Torn
by redsandman99
Summary: Roman's caught between the life he lives at home and the life he wants to live with Dean. Bray is caught between trying to force Roman out and pulling him deeper for his own games. And Dean's just caught in the middle.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I had absolutely no plans in starting a new full fledged story, but Money in the Bank had to go and happen. Inspiration struck a couple of days later as I was thinking about it all again, and now here we are.

* * *

Dean winced as he shifted around, unable to find a single way to sit and not have his body be absolutely wracked with pain. He sat alone on the park bench, which was the last place he had thought he would be tonight. He had intended to be at the bar celebrating with Roman, the belt still in his possession while Roman had the briefcase. They had it all planned out. They were going to take everything. Take what belonged to them. But their plans had come crashing down around them. Roman had lost thanks to Bray jumping into his business while he had lost because...well that was what he seemed to do best when it mattered the most. Every time he got close to what he really wanted, someone either fucked him over, or he just wasn't good enough to get it. Tonight had been the latter. He hadn't been good enough to beat Seth. If he had, he would have been able to hold on to the title after they hit the mat. He wouldn't have had to sit in the middle of the ring and nearly bawl his eyes out for the world to see. He had fucking beaten Seth just two weeks ago. He had pinned him in the middle of the ring, but even then he had gotten fucked over. He had snapped that night, taking the belt with him because fuck Seth, fuck the Authority and fuck that first referee. Seth didn't deserve to keep the belt by disqualification. He didn't deserve it now. But it occurred to Dean that maybe he didn't either. Not when he was such a big fuck up anyway.

Dean took another drink of his vodka, groaning as it slid down his throat. Even in his half drunk state, he could hear Roman's voice telling him not to think like this in his head. Part of him wished he was hearing it for real. He craved the other man's presence like crazy. But he wouldn't call him. He wouldn't seek him out. He didn't want Roman to see him like this. Roman had to put him back together again enough as it was. He didn't need to be burdened with it again on top having to swallow his loss tonight.

 _Coward. You just can't face him because you know Bray did it because of you._

Dean felt himself tense at the thought. He couldn't even begin to deny it. The instant Bray had appeared in the ring, Dean knew why he was there. It didn't matter what other long winded reasons Bray would give, or what excuses Roman himself would use; the real reasons would all came back to Dean.

"Hello darlin."

The voice cut through the darkness, but Dean didn't jump. He knew it was coming. He looked up as Bray sat down next to him. The other man was still in what he wore at the arena, though thankfully without the apron. His eyes didn't hold the gleeful look Dean had been expecting. They were softer. Like he was not only concerned, but taking pity on Dean as well. If Dean could have mustered up the energy, he would have laughed. "I should kick your ass." He couldn't even make the words into a threat. He needed to. Bray had cost Roman that briefcase. He deserved an ass kicking of a lifetime. But they both knew he wasn't in any shape to carry it out. It was hard enough to do when he wasn't beat up all to hell.

"Does the brute really need you fighting his battles?" Bray spat out the word 'brute' like it was the most disgusting thing he could possibly say. "You've got enough troubles of your own." His eyes narrowed at the bottle of vodka Dean had. "Again?"

"At least it's not a cigarette." Dean defiantly took a drink of the alcohol. He knew Bray didn't like it. It was why he had rarely touched it since November. But tonight he didn't give a shit. He needed the numbness the booze would give him.

On another night Bray would have snatched the bottle out of his hands and thrown it away. But tonight he let it go. Dean was grateful for that. "I'm surprised he's not hovering over you. He hardly lets you breathe unless he's by your side."

"Look who's talking."

Bray laughed. Dean had been completely serious, yet Bray just laughed. Dean wasn't surprised. He muttered a few curses under his breath before bringing the bottle of vodka to his lips once again. He should have bought more than one. One wasn't enough to drown out the sharp, constant throbbing in his knee. Every stab of pain reminded him of how he had failed. It reminded him of no matter how good he was, Seth was always better when it actually counted.

Large fingers caressed his hair. Dean leaned against the touch, his eyes closing as his face crumpled. "I had it." His voice cracked and he hated it. He tried to regain control of himself, but he couldn't. He was too tired. Too defeated. Too frustrated. "I thought it was going to be different this time. I didn't...fuck!" He sniffled and pressed his head more into Bray's touch. He didn't care as much if he fell apart in front of Bray. With Roman he wanted to be stronger. Even if he knew he wasn't, he felt like he was burdening Roman when he got weak like this. Roman said he was the strongest person he knew, but he didn't always feel that way. Sometimes his mood would swing the wrong way and he would feel so weak and low and pathetic that he couldn't face anyone else. Except Bray that was. He wasn't afraid of letting Bray see the ugly parts of him, whether they be his thoughts or emotions. Bray was cut from the same kind of cloth that he was. Maybe he was stronger and a hundred times more demented, but it was still the same cloth. There was a comfort in that.

"Come on little lamb." Bray did take the bottle away now. He set it on the other side of the table before helping Dean up to his feet. Dean groaned and tried to put at least a little weight on his bad leg. Big mistake. He immediately crumpled, forcing Bray to catch him. The adrenaline that had kept him going earlier had long since worn off. "I got you." Bray carefully picked him up bridal carry style. "Just relax."

Relaxing was the last thing he needed to be doing. Dean knew that. He should get out of his grip and kick his ass for that stunt against Roman. But his head dropped down on to Bray's shoulder anyway. His eyes still closed, his body going limp as Bray started to move. He would just rest like this for awhile. Just a little while. Then Bray could get the ass kicking he deserved.

* * *

The cheap motel Bray had picked out for the night was one of the more questionable places he had ever picked out. It was small, with a battered roof and doors that were barely on their hinges. The walls were paper thin and the paint was chipping right off them. The smell of decomposition hung in the air, leaving Bray the question of whether it was an animal or a human. The lady at the desk had looked to be nearly seventy, though Bray had suspected that was because of the meth she had used to do rather than it actually having anything to do with her real age. The few people they had passed in the halls had given Dean the eye, which Bray had shut down with a glare of his own. It was bad enough that he had to share Dean with Reigns. He would be damned if he let anyone else near him.

He got Dean stripped of everything but his boxers before getting him settled on the bed. He put an ice pack on his knee, which had swelled in a rather ugly manner. He should have been looked over by a doctor, but Dean hated those and Bray didn't much believe in them. Abigail had taught him how to heal. He could take care of Dean just fine on his own.

The TV was on, playing some sitcom rerun that Bray didn't know the name of. It wasn't nearly as funny as the laugh track would have anyone believe though. Dean stared at the screen, his expression set in a frown. The events from earlier were still bothering him. The title had been as good as his. He had gotten so close, only to be robbed yet again. The failure was eating him up on the inside. Dean could usually let losses go, but it was different when it came to Seth. The wounds of the betrayal still ran deep. No matter how much he tried to solider on, it was still a raw, gaping wound. And every attempt he had made to put things right had gone awry.

Bray let his eyes wander up and down the bruises that now littered Dean's body. As much as he himself hated Rollins, the little weasel had made a work of art out of Dean. Battered, bruised, teetering on broken - it made Dean belong to him for the night instead of Roman. For that, he was more than happy. Dean's attachment to the former muscle of the Shield wore on him. Roman didn't deserve him. Bray was sure of that. Roman could claim he loved Dean all he wanted, but Bray knew he still went home to his wife and child. He hadn't given them up for Dean. He kept them around, using them to show the world his lie. Whether the two of them were aware of it Bray didn't know. He didn't care. What he cared about was Dean. Dean was the only one who mattered.

Bray reached over and traced his his fingers up and down Dean's torso. He heard Dean's breath catch in his throat and swooped in for a kiss. It wasn't as harsh as it normally was, but it was demanding all the same. Dean grunted, making a tiny effort to push him away before giving in. Bray's touch grew firmer, making Dean shudder and wince. Dean was absolutely addicting. Every little touch made Bray want more. Every kiss sent sparks through Bray's whole body. Dean felt it too. He knew he did.

"Fuck!" Dean groaned as Bray's lips traveled down to his neck. He tilted his head back, leaving more of it exposed. "Bray...fucking jesus Bray not now."

"Why not?" Bray let his kisses go to Dean's collarbone while his fingers played with the waistband of Dean's boxers.

"I'm fucking tired. And my knee is fucking killing me."

"You wouldn't say no if it was _him_."

Dean flinched. "Don't fucking do that to me. Not tonight."

"Well am I wrong?"

"Yes you fucking asshole."

Bray was still skeptical. He moved off the bed, walking over to where he had put Dean's jeans. He picked them up long enough to get out Dean's phone before dropping them once again. "Eleven missed calls." He let out a low chuckle. "I wonder who these are from."

"Bray stop it."

"Roman...Roman...Roman again..."

"Bray seriously. Shut the fuck up."

"It's cute how he pretends to be worried about you."

Dean stiffened. "He don't pretend anything." He reached his hand out. "Give me the phone."

"No." Bray dropped it back down, not caring if it broke as it hit the floor. It had been tempting to call Roman back. He could rub it in his face that he had Dean once again, but he didn't. That could be done later. For now he went back to the bed, grabbing the remote and shutting off the TV.

Dean swallowed hard. "I should text him." Guilt was creeping in, much like it always did. "He had a bad enough night as it was. He shouldn't have to worry on top of it."

Bray rolled his eyes. "He knows very well that you're with me. It's not a mystery to him."

Dean looked down at his hands. "You're a fucking asshole for what you did."

"Me?" Bray let out a small laugh. "I merely just didn't let him take something else he didn't deserve." He grabbed Dean's chin and squeezed it gently. "I'd burn this entire world down for you while you don't even fully get him. He goes home to them. He lives a lie with them. Doesn't it bother you being second best?"

Dean shoved his hand away. "He's good." His exhaustion made his argument sound weak at best. "He's a good man."

Maybe he was. Roman was probably as good of a man as one was going to get. But even a good man had a monster living inside of him. Or one could be created. Bray barely held back a smile at the thought. That was quite the intriguing thought. Could he make a monster out of Reigns? Or better yet, could he break Reigns? Now he did smile, causing Dean to narrow his eyes suspiciously.

"What? What the fuck are you thinking about?"

Bray didn't answer him. He just kissed him again, a hand reaching down to rub Dean's cock through his boxers. Dean groaned, his earlier refusal forgotten as he arched into Bray's touch. Bray smirked and deepened the kiss. The thoughts of Roman left his head completely. He could worry about the brute later. Right now he just wanted to focus on Dean.

* * *

Roman took another look at his phone, hoping to see a message that obviously wasn't going to be there. The ringtone he had set for when Dean called or texted him hadn't gone off. It probably wouldn't for the rest of the night. Dean had looked so utterly defeated after the match with Seth. Roman had watched from backstage, his heart breaking at the look on his best friend's face. He had tried to catch up with him afterwards, not wanting him to be alone. But Dean had evaded him, instead taking off to parts unknown. Roman had tried looking for him, but every bar he had gone to had been a dead end. He had even tried searching the area around the hotel and the arena, but still no luck. When Dean wanted to get gone, he really got gone.

Roman set his phone down and let out a long sigh. He had called and left messages, hoping Dean would get back to him. That was all he could really do if Dean didn't want to be found. But even in knowing that, it still didn't feel like enough. He still felt like a piece of shit for laying on this bed while Dean was who knew where. His own lost match had been almost forgotten. Almost was the key word. His wife calling to check on him had put it back on his mind. She had even asked him why Bray would target him. He hadn't been able to give her an answer. There was no way to tell her the reason he believed for it. He couldn't say he and Bray had already been at odds backstage because they were both sleeping with Dean. Of course, that was probably what he needed to do. He couldn't keep on lying to her. Eventually that was going to come back to haunt him. But for tonight he admitted nothing. He played dumb, going through the motions and feeling like an asshole even after he hung up. He couldn't keep doing this. It wasn't right. It wasn't right to lie to her. He loved Dean, and it wasn't right to put him through this crap either.

Gray eyes looked to the phone once again. Even if he didn't know where Dean was, he was pretty sure he knew who he was with. The thought made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He didn't understand why this thing with Wyatt was still going on. It still baffled him that it even started. Sure he knew Dean had a tendency to sleep with people he was at odds with. It had happened with Seth and Regal in FCW. The first time he and Dean had slept together had been after an argument that had come to blows. But even in knowing this, Dean falling into bed with Bray still managed to shock him. Maybe it was because it was _Bray Wyatt_. That was just weird to him. And it made him completely uneasy. Bray had been completely fixated on Dean from the start. He was creepy, obsessive, and didn't have much care for Dean making time for anyone else but him. Roman had tried to point this out. He tried to reason with Dean. But Dean was Dean, and he did whatever he wanted anyway.

Roman groaned and put the phone on the bedside table. He needed to try to get some sleep. He had to get up early to make the drive to the next city for Raw. He made himself slip under the covers and shut off the lights. His attempts to close his eyes and go to sleep brought absolutely no success. Anxiety gnawed away at him. He should have tried harder to find Dean. He shouldn't have let him get away. He belonged here, safe in this bed and being taken care of instead of wherever Bray surely dragged him off to. He wanted to get up and start looking for them again. "God damn it." He rolled over on his side so he could stare at the wall instead of the ceiling. Fucking Wyatt. Between this and the stunt he pulled during the match he was going to punch him extra hard in the mouth the next time he saw him.

It was nearly three hours later before his phone finally went off. Roman sat straight up, not caring that he had almost finally been asleep. He rolled back over and grabbed the phone, not even bothering to check the name flashing on the screen. He knew who it was already. "Dean?"

"Hey." The tired, raspy voice he had been waiting on was nearly a whisper.

"How are you?" Roman reached over and fumbled around until he found the lamp sitting by his bed. He turned it on, the light hurting his eyes a bit.

"I'll live." Dean didn't try to lie and say he was fine. He knew Roman would see right through it. "S'not the worst I've ever been beat up."

Roman knows that's true, and the knowledge made his heart hurt. "I'm taking you to the trainer's room tomorrow. You should have been looked at tonight."

Dean started to groan but quickly stopped himself. "Jesus Ro. Just leave it alone. It's nothing to worry about."

"It is." Roman turned to look at the clock and winced. It was past three in the morning. He was going to need extra coffee just to be functional in the morning. "Where are you?"

"A motel."

"What motel? I can come get you."

"Don't. It's fine. I'll meet you at the arena tomorrow."

Roman knew he should leave it well enough alone. It never did any good to push Dean. But he found himself speaking yet again, despite his better judgment. "Are you with him?"

Dean's silence on the other end answered that one.

"Dean -"

"He found me. I didn't go to him."

Roman believed that. Bray was good at finding Dean when he couldn't. "Where does he got you? I can come get you."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm fucking tired Ro. And I don't have the energy to even watch you two fight." Dean let out a sigh. "Look, I'll meet you at the arena. You can bust his head in then."

Roman tried to object. He had the first word of it almost out of his mouth when he heard Dean curse. The call ended suddenly, making Roman groan. That wasn't how he had wanted it to go. He pulled the phone away from his ear, his thumb tracing over the screen. He almost called Dean back that very second. That was what he wanted to do. But he knew Dean wouldn't answer. The call that had just ended was all he was going to get for the night.

"Fuck!" He put his phone away again and settled back down. He didn't even try to close his eyes this time. He just resigned himself to the fact that this was going to be a very long night.


	2. Chapter 2

The smell of bacon was what woke Dean up the next morning. He let out a low groan, completely confused as he opened his eyes. He had no idea why he was smelling food at all. He was still in the shitty motel room. There was nowhere to make anything. "What the fuck?" He looked over at Bray, who was sitting next to him on the bed. He had already gotten dressed and had his attention focused on the TV. Dean followed his gaze and saw that he had turned on one of the local news station. Dean rubbed his eyes before scanning the rest of the room. On the table by the window was a styrofoam container and a large cup of coffee that hadn't been there when he had fallen asleep. "Where the fuck did you go?" Dean sat up, keeping the covers over the lower half of his body for the time being. "I didn't even hear you leave."

"There's a diner right down the street," Bray replied. He looked away from the TV to meet Dean's confused gaze. "You didn't eat before the pay per view so you need something."

"How do you know I - you know what? Never mind." Dean didn't want Bray to tell him how he knew that. Instead he threw the covers off of him and carefully got up to his feet. His knee still hurt terribly, but he could at least put a little weight on it. He limped to the table and grabbed his food and drink before returning to the bed. He carefully set the coffee next to the lamp before opening the container to see what he got. Pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and sausage links. It was much more than he ever actually ate first thing in the morning. But he wasn't going to raise a fuss right now. Instead he put about half of the eggs and one of the sausage links on top of the first pancake. He rolled it all up, creating a makeshift breakfast burrito for himself.

"Darlin, I don't know if anyone's told you this, but you have mighty weird habits with your food." Bray was watching him with a mix of exasperation and amusement. It was an expression Roman commonly gave him, though he wasn't looking to point out that particular fact.

"Do not." Dean shoveled half of his creation in his mouth at once, not caring if some of the egg fell out on himself. "It's easier this way." He barely had the first mouthful swallowed before he was shoveling the other half in his mouth.

"That's completely disgusting."

Dean's response was to elbow Bray in the ribs.

"Don't be hitting me because I'm telling the truth."

"I'm hitting you because you're a fuck face." Dean elbowed him harder this time. "You fucking deserve it for costing Roman that match."

"He didn't deserve to win it."

"And you did?" Dean shook his head as he grabbed the first piece of bacon and took a bite of it.

"Anyone but him deserved it."

"Bullshit. You're just saying that because you don't like him."

Bray didn't make a move to deny the accusation. He just laughed it off, which only made Dean angrier. "Fuck you man." He set the rest of the food aside and got up again. He didn't want it now. He just wanted to get dressed and get out of there. He started to reach down for the boxers that were supposed to be right there, but his fingers found nothing. He straightened back up and looked around. None of his clothes could be seen. "Where are they?"

"Where are what?" Bray snagged the piece of bacon Dean didn't eat for himself.

"My clothes." Dean limped around the room, looking all around like he had somehow missed them in the tiny room.

"Oh those?"

"Yes those I - did you fucking hide them again?"

Bray just took a bite of the bacon, the twinkle in his eyes giving him away.

"Dude! For fuck's sake!"

"I didn't want you just running off on me little lamb."

Dean groaned in frustration. "God fucking damn it." He ran both hands over his face. "Bray seriously. You're an adult. This is the stupidest thing ever, and I'm fucking including MY stupid shit with it!" He put his hands on his hips, trying to look as intimidating as he possibly could. He didn't actually expect it to work. Bray wasn't scared of him when he wasn't buck naked and had two good legs to stand on. But he still made the attempt. He had to try something. This shit was too ridiculous to just take.

Bray just stared at him, eyes completely unashamed as they looked Dean's body up and down. "And what do I get if I tell you where they are?"

Dean felt the vein by his eye twitch. "Not punched in the face?"

"I think you'll have to do better than that." Bray put the container aside and got up as well now. "I can think of all kinds of things you could offer me that would make it worth my while."

Dean was sure that he could. He took a quick glance at the clock. There was really no time for any of them right now. If they didn't leave soon they were going to be late. He tried to say as much, but the words weren't allowed to leave his mouth. Bray kissed him, an arm snaking around his waist to pull him in close. He told himself not to kiss him back. But actually listening to his brain was not something he was actually good at. He returned the kiss, his body shivering as Bray's fingers drift up and down his back. There was something completely addicting about Bray. He hadn't expected it. He couldn't pin down exactly what the fuck it even was. But it was there, drawing him in even deeper.

His phone buzzing somewhere broke the moment. Dean pulled back, rolling his eyes as he realized it was coming from under the bed. That was the only place Dean hadn't actually looked for his stuff. "Fucking son of a bitch." He stepped out of the embrace and carefully got down on the floor. His entire body objected, but he ignored the pain and pulled his stuff out from under the bed. "Fucking christ Bray." He stood back up, only to have Bray grab him from behind. "No. Fuck you. Get off me."

"Stay with me tonight." Bray ignored his words in favor of sucking and biting his way across his neck and shoulder. He was leaving all kinds of marks in his wake. Marks for the world to see. Marks that would be a reminder to Roman who he had spent the night with. Dean would have found himself angrier with Bray if Roman didn't do the exact same thing. It was always a stupid competition between the two of them. They always had to try to prove something. Dean hated it. The whole macho pissing contest between them was exhausting.

"We gotta go." Dean avoided responding to Bray's request by slipping out of his grasp and putting his clothes on. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do later. He knew what Bray wanted and he knew what Roman was going to want. He had no idea what he was going to want though. And he wasn't going to think about it now. "We're going to be late."

"And we suddenly care about that?"

"I got a scumbag to punch in the face." Dean limped around the bed to grab his coffee. "And Roman's fist still has a date with your face."

Bray just laughed. There was something in his eyes that made Dean feel uneasy. He was up to something. Something more evil than his usual shenanigans. Dean could just tell by the gleam in his eyes. He wanted to call him out on it. The words were almost out of his mouth when Bray just went right out the door. "Son of a fucking bitch," he muttered. He limped after him, muttering more curses under his breath as he struggled to catch up.

* * *

Roman paced up and down the hallway. He had gotten to the arena a bit late, having slept about an hour past his alarm. He had hoped that would mean finding Dean already in the building, but he still wasn't around. He had tried calling him yet again, but hadn't gotten an answer. He told himself that didn't really mean anything. Dean was just terrible at answering his phone and responding to people's texts. But it always made him more nervous when he knew Dean was with Bray. He trusted Wyatt as far as he could throw a bus. Hell, if it came down to it, he would trust Seth and the Authority over Bray.

Roman scowled and beat a fist into his other hand. He didn't have a match scheduled later, but he didn't care. That just freed him up to march down to the ring and call out Bray. Whether Bray would actually come down and fight him face to face was debatable. That typically wasn't Bray's style. But he sure as hell was gong to try to get him out there.

"Hey Ro!"

The gruff voice calling out his name made Roman sigh in relief. He looked up to see Dean limping towards him, still wearing his clothes from last night. His bag was sitting in Roman's locker room. They would have to get him changed before the show started. "How's the knee?" He winced as Dean kept on limping. "You didn't see the trainer did you?"

"You know the answer to that." Dean came to a stop and tried to act like he wasn't hurting. Roman knew he was full of shit. He could tell he was putting all his weight on his good leg. "I think I got a knee brace in my bag from Walgreens. I can just use that." He frowned a bit immediately after he spoke. "You have my shit right?"

"Yeah," Roman assured him. "I got it."

"Cool." Dean let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry that uh, I took off. I just um, kind of had to bail."

Roman just nodded. He didn't really want to address what had happened last night. It would just remind him who Dean had been with, and he had thought about that as much as he could begin to stomach. Jealousy was not a thing he liked to feel. It bubbled inside of him, twisting him up and making him feel like he swallowed a bunch of acid. He hated it, but he had no right to ask Dean not to see Bray anymore. Not when went home to his family every week. Dean hadn't made him choose yet, so he had to do the same.

"Did you get a room with a shower?" Dean asked hopefully. "I kind of need one. I'm fucking gross."

Roman grinned. "Yeah, I did." He motioned for Dean to follow him. "Come on. It's over here."

Dean followed him, struggling to keep up with his limp. Roman slowed down and offered his help. Dean shook him off, too stubborn to just accept it. Roman almost forced the issue, but decided not to. Not yet. If Dean stumbled though, he was helping whether the younger man liked it or not.

They were barely in the locker room when Dean slipped his shirt off. He tossed it away without giving a glance as to where it landed. Roman rolled his eyes before picking it up. He grabbed the rest of Dean's clothes as they were taken off as well, bundling them up and setting them by Dean's stuff. He would just put them away once Dean got his clean clothes out.

"Wanna join me?"

Dean's offer took Roman by surprise. It wasn't like he could refuse though. One look at Dean standing naked before him made his decision easy. "Yeah." He nodded a bit eagerly as he spoke, earning a smirk from Dean. "Sure." He took his own clothes off, letting them sit by Dean's. The instant he was naked he found himself being grabbed by the wrist and dragged to the showers. "Easy there tiger."

Dean merely grunted in response. They stepped into the shower together, Dean fiddling with the knobs to turn on the water. The first immediate blast was ice cold, making Roman nearly hop right back out.

"Fuck dude!"

"I'm fixing it! Don't get your panties in a bunch."

Roman shivered, sighing in relief as Dean got it nice and hot. "You can keep it a little cold. This probably ain't good for your knee."

"My knee's fine," Dean insisted. "Don't worry about it."

Easier said than done. Roman couldn't help but worry. He worried about Dean's health, knowing that Dean himself threw too much caution to the wind when it came to his own well being. He knew Dean didn't know any other way to fight. He knew Dean didn't know any other way to fight, but that didn't mean he liked it. If something worse than being battered and bruised happened to him, he didn't know what he would do.

"Who the fuck actually put the soap in here?"

"What?"

"The soap." Dean nearly shoved the bar of soap he was holding into Roman's face. "Did they make the agents start putting them in? Or is like, the people who work here at the arena?"

"I...have no idea." Roman wasn't even going to venture a guess. He just watched as Dean started washing himself off again. He tried not to look too much at Dean's knee, knowing that would just make him worry more. Instead he kept his eyes on Dean's upper body while also trying to stay somewhat under the spray so he wouldn't freeze. He liked the way the water droplets and the soap suds looked on Dean's chest. However he didn't like the array of bruises that decorated his neck and shoulder. He knew where those marks had come from. Wyatt always made sure Dean came back with them.

A low growl surprised the both of them. Roman didn't actually mean to let it out. Yet there it was, and now he was moving, kissing Dean as he pushed him back against the wall. He felt Dean's arms snake around his neck, keeping him pulled in close. His hands wandered over Dean's body, going over every inch he already knew so well. He couldn't get enough of him. He hadn't ever expected to feel like this. He remembered all too well how he and Dean used to want to just rip each other apart when they were in the same room. He remembered originally even kissing Dean just to shut him up. Now here they were, the only ones who actually had each other's backs. Roman did have other family in the company, but they didn't fight with him. Dean had been by his side when Seth had crashed their world down around them. Dean fought side by side with him in their battles in the Authority. Dean had been the one to get him to pick himself up and brush himself off from every bump he hit in the road. Dean was everything he wanted. Dean was the one he was in love with. If it was just his wife he had to think about, he would have came clean and ended the marriage a long time ago. But she wasn't. There was his daughter to think about. His reluctance to put her through the mess of a divorce stopped him from doing what he truly wanted.

"Stay with me tonight," he said as his lips traveled across Dean's neck. He put his own marks over Bray's while making ones that were all his own.

"Whare are ya gonna give me if I do?" Dean tilted his head back, leaving more of his neck exposed for Roman. A hand gripped Roman's hair, tugging on it just a little bit. Roman was normally sensitive about his hair, but this time he let it slide. "I think I'm gonna need some convincing."

"Convincing huh?" Roman smirked and moved his kisses a bit lower, going all across Dean's collarbone now. "I think I can manage that." He sank down to his knees, his kisses moving from Dean's collarbone to his chest and then his stomach. His hands grabbed Dean's hips, holding him still as his mouth engulfed his cock.

"Fuck!" Dean's grip on his hair tightened. He tried to thrust into Roman's mouth, but Roman still didn't allow him to move. He bobbed his head slowly, lavishing every inch of Dean's length with his tongue that he could. He kept his eyes fixed on Dean's face, loving the way he looked. Blue eyes were half lidded, pink lips were parted - he looked so fucking gorgeous and he didn't even realize it.

"Roman...fuck...you make a fantastic fucking argument."

Roman pulled his mouth away to smirk. "I thought so myself." He placed a bunch of kisses against Dean's inner thigh before moving his mouth back over his cock. He hollowed his cheeks and sucked harder, swirling his tongue around the head. He dug his nails into Dean's hips, using just enough pressure to give Dean a taste of pain rather than actually hurting him.

"I'll stay." Dean nodded eagerly to his own words. "I'll stay with you tonight. Just don't stop. Don't fucking stop."

Like he had any plans of that. Roman bobbed his head faster, humming as he did it now. His own cock was hard and begging for attention. He wrapped his hand around it and started stroking, shivering at not only the sensation, but from the sound Dean made as he watched him.

"Jesus Rome. That's fucking...god fucking damn." Dean couldn't manage to be more coherent than that. His fingers twisted in Roman's hair as incoherent mess of words came from his mouth. Roman was sure it was all supposed to be filthy. He sucked harder, his hand jerking himself even faster. He heard Dean moan his name and got the taste of Dean's release on his tongue. He swallowed it down eagerly, moaning as he felt himself cum next.

"Fucking shit Roman." Dean panted for breath as Roman pulled away and stood back up. "Come here." He didn't wait for Roman to obey. He just pulled him in for a rough, sloppy kiss. "Fucking glorious bastard."

Roman chuckled. He was more than happy to take that compliment.

* * *

The sound of the shower running kept Dean and Roman hearing Bray slip into Roman's locker room. It also kept Bray from hearing exactly what they were doing, which he was more than grateful for. Knowing it was one thing. Actually hearing it would be something else. He took a quick look around, knowing he wouldn't have long. He saw Roman and Dean's clothes piled up on the bench. He went over to them and dug Roman's phone out of his pocket. He knew Reigns was going to call him out. He knew the brute would want to fight. But Bray wouldn't give him one. Not tonight. He had started this war and he was going to make sure they played the game his way.

He put in the pass code to the phone (Dean's birthday of all things - Mrs. Reigns had to be a trusting woman to not go through the device and discover that fact) and started looking through the pictures. Roman and his wife, Roman and his parents, Roman and Dean - Bray took a good look of those in particular. He wanted to hit Roman where he was weak. Dean would be a good choice. But not only was that not a low enough blow, he wasn't interested in making things complicated for himself on the Dean front. Putting him even more in the middle than he already was would do just that.

The next picture Bray saw made him pause. It was a picture of Roman and his daughter. They were at a birthday party, possibly her own. She was sitting on his lap, birthday hats on both of their heads. She had cake smeared all over her face and he was looking at her like she was the greatest thing that he had ever seen. And that was it. That was the answer he was seeking right there. He smiled to himself before exiting out of the pictures and putting Roman's phone back where he found it. He took one last glance around before slipping out, laughing to himself as he got away unseen. He slipped his hands into his pockets as he made his way down the hallway, singing to himself all the while. "If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise..."


	3. Chapter 3

The plan to punch Seth's face in was only mildly successful. Dean had gotten his hands on him, but it had been an all too brief encounter. Beating Sheamus was at least an okay consolation prize. The Irish lug had been someone he utterly despised since the moment he met him. He supposed he owed Orton a thank you for the assist, but he wasn't going to go and give it now. Instead he made his way through the hallways, trying to hide his limp as he went. His knee was really hurting again, but he didn't want to let it show. He kept his mind focused on getting to his and Roman's locker room. He knew Roman was going to call Bray out. And he knew how both men got. Shit was probably going to get ugly fast and he wanted to keep an eye on the situation.

His hand had barely touched the doorknob to their locker room when the sound of Roman's laughter reached his ear. "You didn't tell your mom that I taught you how to do that right? Because she might kill me." A brief period of silence followed by another laugh. "Of course Uncle Matt like that. He was the one who taught me."

Dean stayed still, barely even daring to breathe too loudly. Roman was talking to his daughter. It felt wrong to go in and intrude on that.

"I'll be home for your baseball game. No, I'm not lying. I don't have to leave again until Saturday morning. Your game is Friday night. I can come see you play this time."

Dean felt a pang go through his chest. He knew how much Roman loved his daughter. He knew how hard it was for him to miss things like her baseball games and dance recitals. Roman didn't talk about it a lot, but Dean still knew. It made him not only feel bad for him, but it made him feel like an asshole in general. If Roman's wife found out about what the two of them were doing, odds are she would file for divorce. If she filed for divorce then she would get the kid. Roman's schedule wouldn't allow him to get joint custody. And if that happened he would see her even less than he already did. Dean knew what that would do to him. He didn't want to see that happen.

 _It will though. If you let this go on it's going to blow up in your face._

Of course he knew that. He had known it since day one. But that hadn't stopped him from getting in too deep. He hadn't been able to just have Roman once. He had to go and want him more. He had to go and fall in love with Roman fucking Reigns. He knew Roman loved him too. Roman was the one who actually said it. Dean had yet to do it. He couldn't. He wouldn't allow himself to do it. If he didn't say it he could keep a wall up around him for when Roman inevitably had to finally choose his family over him. If he said the words that wall wouldn't be there. He would be completely exposed and left defenseless to the pain he wanted to avoid.

With the locker room out, Dean went outside instead. He walked over to the trucks that normally held the ring and other equipment. The ring crew was all inside working, which meant he could avoid being bothered. He sat down on the ground, not worrying about how much of a bitch it was going to be to get up later. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He wanted a cigarette. It felt like he needed one. It didn't matter that he had quit a few years ago. The urge still rose up in him every now and again. But he couldn't do it. He didn't have one, and doing it would just lead to him getting bitched at. It wasn't worth hearing that shit.

"If you go into the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise. If you go down to the woods today, you'd better go in disguise."

It wasn't the fact that Bray was singing that made Dean open his eyes and look at him like he had grown a second head. Bray was always fucking singing. But today's song choice was a little too weird, even for the usual Wyatt standards. "Do I even want to know why you're singing that?"

"It's in my head." Bray supplied the answer to him anyway. He sat down next to Dean, smiling despite the look he was receiving. It has been all day."

"Well knock it off. You're making it all creepy."

"Would you prefer another one?" Bray put his fingers on Dean's thigh and slowly made them crawl upwards. "The itsy bitsy spider -"

"Not funny." Dean swatted Bray's hand away. "Not fucking funny at all."

"It's a little funny," Bray insisted. He put his hand on Dean's leg again, though this time he didn't try to make it crawl like a spider. He gave it a squeeze instead. "There's much bigger things to be afraid of than spiders."

"Spiders are the devil," Dean declared. "You ain't fucking telling me otherwise."

Bray looked completely amused by the statement. Blue eyes twinkled as his mouth curled up into a smile. It was a genuine rather than one of his psycho evil genius ones. Dean could tell the difference. He was the only one that could. He was the only one who had seen the other side to Bray. He was the one who got to see the man that lived within the monster Bray had made himself into.

"Do I have to ask why he wasn't all over you after the match?" Bray's question broke the moment and reminded Dean why he had come out here. "Or do I already know the answer?"

Dean didn't reply, which gave away that it was the latter. Of course Bray knew. He always knew.

"You don't have to keep being his _other_ one. Not when you deserve to be the _only_ one."

Right. The only one. That wasn't something he really ever was. He had been just another body in a partner's long line of hookups. He had been the secret boyfriend. But he hadn't ever been the one. Not until Bray came along. Bray had fixated on him. Denied him his final vengeance on Seth just to get his attention. Dean had turned his rage towards the former patriarch of the Wyatt family, but it wasn't just his venom that Bray had wanted. Bray had come to him after Survivor Series, not at all bothered by the fact that Dean had left him laying in the middle of the ring. Dean had tried to leave him laying once again, but Bray had caught his wrists and kissed him. That one had caught him by surprise. Of all the people he could have ended up fighting and fucking, Bray had been one of the last people he expected. But it hadn't stopped him. He figured that was just what it would stay. Fighting, fucking and then moving on. It hadn't occurred to him that Bray would want anything more. Not until he had showed up at his apartment when they had gotten time off for Christmas.

 _Dean gripped the now empty glass tightly in his hand. He had drank all the whiskey he had poured himself, but he didn't feel like getting up to pour himself more. Instead he kept his eyes on the TV screen, not all too happy with the crap he was stuck watching. The holiday season had bought a parade of Christmas specials and a Harry Potter marathon that would just not die. Dean didn't care for the series at all (it was Seth's thing and anything Seth related made him boil in anger), but he would be damned if he was going to spend his time watching Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. He had spent many Christmas seasons as a kid watching those, huddled up alone on his couch while his mother was either out selling herself on the streets, or busy getting doped up with whatever boyfriend she had at the time. Times had changed, but being alone on Christmas hadn't. Seth was off playing with his new boys in the Authority while Roman was spending the time with his family. Roman had tried to convince him to come over, saying that his family wouldn't mind. Dean couldn't do it though. As much as he wanted to be with Roman, he didn't want to watch him be the doting husband and father. Guilt and jealousy would rear their heads and he would go and do something stupid. That was the last thing any of them needed._

 _A knock on the door surprised him. He hadn't been expecting anyone. He reluctantly got up and went to the door, figuring it would be one of the neighbors wanting to borrow something again. He didn't expect to find Bray on the other side of it. "What the fuck?" He blinked several times, his mind still not quite processing who he was seeing. While it wasn't a secret that he lived in Las Vegas, it wasn't like he went around and advertised his address to the whole locker room. "How the hell did you find me?"_

 _"Our dear Mr. Corrano was nice enough to give me you address."_

 _Dean's eyes narrowed. He knew Corrano was a little fuck, but he didn't believe for a second that the bastard had actually just given Bray his address. "Give? How loosely are we using that term?"_

 _"Maybe a little," Bray admitted. He was grinning now, clearly loving how exasperated Dean was. "Mind if I come in?"_

 _"Yes." Despite his answer, Dean still stepped aside to let Bray in. Sitting alone in his apartment was currently too depressing to allow him to turn the other man away. "If you're going to be here though, we gotta talk about this whole stalking me thing. It's a little weird."_

 _"It's not stalking, I -" Bray's voice trailed off as he reached the living room and saw what was on TV. "Well I'll say little lamb, I wasn't expecting that one."_

 _Dean's face turned red. "Shut up." He grabbed the remote and shut the TV off. "Nothing else was on."_

 _"Right." Bray let his eyes go to the shelf of movies Dean had. "Of course it wasn't."_

 _"I didn't want to watch any of those." Dean dropped the remote down on to the coffee table. "And you know what? You don't get to come in here and make fun of me. I could still kick you out."_

 _"You won't though."_

 _"Oh yeah? Why not?"_

 _The answer he got to that was a kiss. Of course that was the response he would get_ _. He went with it, kissing Bray back as they stumbled for_ _his bedroom._

 _The days passed with a kind of peace Dean hadn't expected. They_ _didn't talk about Roman. They didn't talk about Dean's suspicion that Bray_ _was lonely without Harper and Rowan at the compound. They just fell into_ _their own little world of fucking, eating, sleeping and more fucking. They_ _slipped a couple movies in too while they were at it. It wasn't until_ _Christmas Eve that Bray ventured out of the apartment, coming back a couple_ _hours later with a tree and some decorations he had managed to find. Dean_ _had objected at first, saying the whole thing was stupid. But with some well_ _placed touches and kisses, he found himself turning on the news so they_ _would have something to listen to as they put he lights on the tree._

 _"I ain't buying you a present though," Dean grumbled. "I'm not going_ _to a damn store and fighting that crowd. Fuck that noise."_

 _Bray chuckled. "I never asked you to darlin. What I'd ask you for_ _isn't something money could buy anyway."_

 _"Technically speaking, you can buy sex."_

 _"Darlin -"_

 _"In other news, the owner of a Christmas tree lot was assaulted_ _earlier today. Jacob Nelson was found unconscious behind his trailer by his_ _wife and son. He has told police he was ambushed by a rather large, bearded_ _man, who would go on to take one of the last trees he had. Authorities on_ _the lookout..."_

 _The rest of the report didn't really register in Dean's brain. He_ _just looked at Bray, who didn't look the least bit ashamed of himself. Dean_ _looked back and forth between him and the tree, not surprised in the very_ _least. His lips turned up into a smile. The smile then turned into a laugh._ _He laughed so hard his sides hurt. Of course Bray had stolen the damn tree._ _He probably stole the lights too. He would have done the same damn thing himself._

Bray's lips on his brought him back to reality. Dean deepened it, a hand reaching over to grip the front of Bray's shirt. Things hadn't really stayed as simple as they had been during that time off. Not with Dean's feelings for Roman and Bray's jealousy over them. Not with the way Bray liked to poke and prod and dig at wounds just to try to get his way. Bray was still a son of a bitch like that. But Bray was his son of a bitch. And maybe that was the key thing. He didn't feel insecure around Bray. He didn't have any doubts that he wasn't good enough for him. Bray saw every part of him and understood him. Roman didn't always get it. There was no way he could. He tried to be accepting, but accepting didn't always feel like enough. Bray understood. And Dean could understand him right back.

"Wyatt! Ambrose! Just what do you think you're doing?"

The sound of Jamie Noble's horrifically irritating voice caused the kiss to break. He was standing just a couple feet away, his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. It occurred to Dean that the little fucker was trying to be intimidating. Why he thought that would work was beyond him.

"Didn't you two pay any attention to the meeting Hunter and Stephanie had last week? We're not tolerating having you and everyone else running around here and making out like you're in high school!" Jamie was still going strong, not yet intimidated by the looks he was getting. "This is a professional environment. We in the Authority will not -"

Bray stood up and slowly advanced towards Noble. Jamie stopped, his voice cutting off with a squeak. It was now occurring to him that confronting the two of him on his own wasn't the best idea. "What exactly do you think you and your little sheep are gonna do?" Bray asked. His voice was quiet. Too quiet. That was always more dangerous than when he yelled. If he struck then it was always much more vicious.

"Um...w-w-w-we -" Jamie chuckled nervously. "I think we can um, let you off with a warning."

"Oh a warning?" Bray looked back at Dean. "He wants to just give us a warning little lamb. Isn't that generous of him?"

"Oh yeah," Dean agreed. "It's so generous that maybe we should just give him one black eye instead of two."

Jamie's eyes widened. "Now wait a minute..."

Bray made a move like he was going to grab him. The smaller man yelped and ran off, leaving Bray and Dean far behind. Dean threw his head back and laughed. As much as he hated the Authority, Noble and Mercury were so easy to get that it was at least entertaining. And entertainment value was never anything to overlook.

* * *

Roman barely heard his music or the noise from the crowd as he stormed down to the ring. The moment he had been waiting for was finally here. He was calling out Wyatt. He had tried looking for him backstage, but hadn't had any success. He hadn't even found Dean until about twenty minutes ago. The younger man had been in catering, munching on a bag of chips and acting like he had just been hanging around the entire time. Roman had a feeling that wasn't the case. Not with knowing that Bray actually was around there somewhere. Not with knowing the kind of hold the fucker had on Dean. He didn't say anything on the matter though. Instead he had tried to just focus on what Bray had done to him last night. He had to keep this a professional issue. Bray thrived on making things personal. He couldn't let the bastard get the upper hand.

He grabbed himself a microphone and got into the middle of the ring. The camera was right on up him and he found it hard to resist the urge to knock the man behind it away. "Last night was not a good night. And I got very little sleep, which makes for a long day." His own words felt like a huge understatement to his own ears. "So that means I am PISSED OFF!" The crowd cheered at that, like he figured they would. "And I'm not waiting for Battleground. I say we throw down right here in the Q." The crowd cheered even louder than before. "So Bray Wyatt, get your ass out here RIGHT NOW!"

The crowd roared again. Roman began to pace around, too amped up to stay still. He wasn't surprised when Bray's little weird graphic thing went off and the arena went dark. He also wasn't surprised when Bray's face appeared on the titan tron rather than in the ring with him. Disappointed sure, but not surprised.

"In the morning, two stars will arise." Bray stepped out of the shadows of whatever corner of the arena he was hiding in. "One speaks the truth, while the other tells _lies_."

"Shut your mouth and get out here now," Roman snapped. He let the microphone drop out of his hand. He wasn't in the mood to listen to this shit. He wanted to fucking fight.

Bray laughed at him. The fucker actually had the audacity to laugh at him. He thought this was a game. "Hello to you too what a fiery temper it is you have. You know, you want answers, but you haven't the capacity to comprehend their meaning." He was gearing up for one of his long winded promos. "Oh how quickly we forget, it should have been me last night, ascending that ladder and grabbing MY destiny."

Roman glared at him. Was that just it? Was beating Bray to get into the ladder match really it? It didn't feel right. Bray's motivations were never that simple. He always was out to prove a point or play a game. That couldn't just be it.

"But it was you Roman." Bray looked disgusted by just saying the words. "It was you. Two weeks ago you STOLE my opportunity. I could have changed things man. I could have been that beacon of hope the world needs. But you selfishly denied me. I think it's that ego of yours. That ego that makes you do such crazy things."

Roman swallowed hard. There was an emphasis on the word crazy that didn't set right with him.

"Come to think of it, you remind me of someone I knew a very, very long time ago. He too was the chosen one. And his people they believed, they believed this chosen one would lead them to paradise. He was chosen, while the other was cast aside. Now we know, they made the wrong choice. And if you don't believe me, all you got to do is look outside your window. Because then you will see that this - all of this - is no paradise. In fact, it's quite the opposite, don't you think?"

 _Did...did he just compare me to Jesus?_ Roman didn't even know what to think of that one.

"Just like you and I Roman. Opposites. I am the yin to your yang. We balance this whole thing out man. Whether you're willing to admit it or not, we need each other. That's how I knew. That's how I knew last night when I saw you climbing that ladder. I knew that true justice - the justice you once said you fought for - it needed to be sought out. Anyone but you Roman. Anyone but you."

Roman frowned. His brain told him to go back there and drag Wyatt's ass to the ring, but his feet stayed planted where they were.

"I will tempt you. I will lie to you. I will haunt you and ultimately will destroy you." Bray stopped and smirked. "But not tonight. No. I mean, what kind of an example would we be setting with Father's Day right around the corner?" He chuckled and looked at something in his hand that Roman couldn't see. "I'm a little teapot short and stout..."

The singing made Roman freeze. The camera moved, showing that Bray was holding a picture of him and his daughter. It was a shot taken during the Father's Day commercial they had shot together last year. "Here is my handle, here is my spout..."

 _No..._ Roman felt like he had swallowed an entire thing of ice. He felt his expression break, the anger giving way to one of horror. Not his daughter. Not his baby.

"Patience Roman. Our fun is just getting started." Bray laughed again before looking towards him again. "Run!"

* * *

Dean stared at the monitor, unable to move or even really breathe. He had known Bray wouldn't go out to fight Roman. Not when Roman was trying to set the terms. He had known Bray would do something to try to get into Roman's head. But he hadn't expected using his daughter. Maybe a family member like the Usos or his parents (like he had done with Dean), but not his daughter. And the look on Roman's face...Dean saw the exact moment he had cracked. Bray had gotten him on the very first try. And it would only get worse. Bray would know what he had done. He would tear at the wound he created in Roman's psyche and make it even deeper. "Fuck!" Dean shook his head and made himself move. He had to get to Roman. "Fuck fuck fuck!"


	4. Chapter 4

The car ride back to the hotel was uncomfortable, to say the least. Dean drove, his grip on the steering wheel iron tight. He had the radio on, but even that noise couldn't drown the oppressive silence that hung between him and Roman. The other man hadn't said a word since they had left the arena. Dean had tried to get something out of him there, but hadn't had much luck. Just some cursing and a muttered statement about needing to leave. Dean had just nodded and grabbed their stuff. He hadn't thought that Roman should be alone. He didn't know what to really say or do, but he was at least trying to come up with something. Hopefully when he thought of it, it would be something that would actually help.

The silence continued on even after they got in their hotel room. Dean kept trying to wait it out. He really did. He sat himself on the bed closest to the door and turned on the TV, hoping Roman would join him in watching a rerun of Criminal Minds. That hadn't happened. Roman was pacing around the room, a worried expression set on his face. He wanted to call home. That much was obvious. The only reason he hadn't was because the kid would be in bed already and his old lady hadn't been feeling well. He didn't want to disturb them. But not checking on them was driving him crazy. Dean knew for a fact that it was. Roman was a man of action. Sitting back and doing nothing for the time being went against his very nature.

"I don't think he'd actually hurt her." Dean finally had to say something. The silence was too much for him to handle. "I mean, I know he's done some fucked up shit. But I don't think he would actually cross the line and hurt her."

Despite all the best intentions, the words had the exact opposite effect that Dean hoped they would. Roman stopped pacing and glared at him. "You don't think he fucking crossed a line just by bringing her up?"

Fuck. Dean had to tread very carefully here, or else this was going to end up in a fight. "He did cross a line." He fought to keep the defensive tone out of his voice. He didn't like being snapped at. It always bothered him, especially when it happened after he tried to be helpful. "I never said that he didn't. But that would be _the_ line. You know what I mean? That's like...that's even beyond him."

Roman didn't look convinced or comforted. "How am I supposed to know that? Huh? He hates me. It's not like it was when it was you he was after. He just wanted your attention. He actually hates me."

"He...okay, he does." Dean couldn't begin to make any sort of denial on that one. "But that don't mean he's actually going to hurt your family. He's fucking with you. He wants to get into your head so he has the advantage when you two fight at Battleground. That's it." Dean reached a hand out, hoping Roman would take it so he could pull him on to the bed with him. "Just come on. You gotta calm down. This is what he wants. You can't let him -"

"Don't talk like this is somehow supposed to be easy for me." Roman shook his head and started moving once again. "This isn't like when he started talking shit about your dad or your mom. He couldn't do anything to them even if he wanted."

"But he's not gonna -"

"Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot you're the master of all things Wyatt."

Dean stiffened. The way Roman said that rubbed him completely the wrong way. "I never fucking said I was a master of all things Bray. I just -"

"When the fuck did he even become Bray to you instead of Wyatt?" This wasn't like Roman. He didn't turn shit around like this and throw it back in someone else's face. The blow Bray had struck had him acting all out of sorts. "Was it before or after you fucked him?"

"Fuck you Roman." The staying off the defensive plan was going right out the window. Dean grabbed the remote and turned off the TV before standing up. "This isn't fucking about me and him. Don't fucking bring that shit up. I'm just trying to fucking help you out here."

"Right. Sure." Roman stopped pacing again and folded his arms over his chest. "Did you know?"

Dean stared at him incredulously. "What?"

"Did you know?"

"...I cannot believe you're even asking me that right now." Dean let out a laugh of complete disbelief. "Are you fucking serious? You think I would have stood for that if I had known about it?"

"I -"

"Do you think that fucking little of me?"

Roman's expression softened. A bit of his usual reasonable nature was coming back. "That's not what I -"

"No no no. Fuck you. Don't fucking tell me that's not what you meant." Now Dean was too pissed to give a shit. Now he wanted to fight. "You already made it clear exactly what you meant."

"Dean -"

"I know I'm a fucking asshole. I fucking know it. But if you really think that I'm that big of a fucking asshole, then you can just go fuck yourself." Dean didn't want to stay here anymore. He couldn't. He had to get out. He had to go clear his head.

"Dean wait." Roman grabbed his wrist as he pushed past him to go for the door. "I'm sorry. I know better than that. I do."

"Let go of me." Dean tried to pull himself out of Roman's grip. "I'm fucking serious Roman."

"I didn't mean it." Roman wasn't relenting. "I shouldn't have been attacking you. I'm sorry." He swallowed hard, giving Dean a pleading look. "Don't go okay?"

Dean almost told him to fuck off. If they had been having a fight on any other night he probably would have. But tonight he made himself sigh and relent. "Fine." He waited until Roman's grip loosened before pulling his wrist free. "I'm going to bed."

Roman just nodded, knowing better than to keep talking. Dean didn't bother to even strip down to his boxers. He just got back on the bed, crawling to the far side of it and getting under the covers. He wasn't actually going to be able to sleep. He knew that one already. But he didn't know what else to do. He was too pissed to keep talking. That he definitely knew. And he had already relented to stay put. Maybe he would sneak out and clear his head when Roman was asleep. Assuming Roman actually went to sleep. Considering how the night had went, it was doubtful that would happen.

Roman didn't join him immediately. He went and brushed his teeth, slipped out of his clothes and turned off the lights before doing it. Dean rolled over to his side, keeping his eyes on the wall as he felt the mattress dip. He didn't move a muscle as he felt Roman's weight lean over him, and he barely even breathed as he felt a kiss being placed on his cheek. "I love you."

Dean didn't outwardly react to the words. On the inside he had too many to really count. His stomach did a little flip, just like it always did whenever he heard Roman say it. But there was also an ache in his chest that went with it. Some of it was because he now felt guilty for being mad. Roman had lashed out in fear. He had done that himself too many times to count. It didn't make it right, but he needed to just get over himself and be more understanding. That's what Roman did for him. The rest of the ache...well it was the same thing it always was. It was bred from having a taste of Roman without really having him. Roman loved him more than his wife, but he hadn't really chosen him. He didn't let himself. He wanted to keep it all. If he kept his wife he kept his daughter. If he kept Dean he kept the one he really loved. And Dean went with it because he didn't want to lose him. He loved Roman. He really did. But deep down, he knew this would end badly for him once their relationship got out to the wrong people. Secrets like this didn't stay a secret forever. It was especially true in the wrestling business. And once it was out, Roman would either have to choose to get rid of him to keep his family, or lose everything because of him. Both options sounded completely awful.

Roman's arm wrapped around him and pulled him in closer. Dean resisted for a half a moment before giving up and relaxing. He felt Roman's lips against the back of his neck. The feeling made his lips twitch and his eyes close. The stuff in his head went quiet and he let out a small sigh. He didn't know whether Roman needed the embrace or thought he did. Whatever. He wasn't going to ask. He would just take it and enjoy it while it lasted.

* * *

Bray knew that Dean would be the one to find him. There wasn't any doubt in his mind about that. Dean knew him better than anyone. He hadn't even let Harper and Rowan in this close. The only thing Bray hadn't been sure of was if Dean would lead Roman to him. He was so attached to his brute. But he came alone, which pleased Bray to no end. The immediate punch to the face was a lot less pleasant, but it was to be expected.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Dean snarled. He grabbed the front of Bray's shirt as he shoved him back into the wall. Blue eyes were blazing, his fury radiating right off of him. "The fuck do you think you're doing?" He pulled Bray off the wall just enough to slam him back first against it yet again. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Possibly."

Dean narrowed his eyes. The answer wasn't appreciated. "That shit was too far. It was too fucking far."

"You and I both know that was barely anything. It wasn't like I actually went after her." Bray smiled, not caring if he got punched in the face again for this next part. "Though I could if I felt like it."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Children's souls are the easiest to steal."

"Bray!"

The fist came flying, connecting right with Bray's mouth. The taste of his own blood quickly coated his tongue. Bray just laughed at it. Dean was just too easy to rile up. "I'm jokin' darlin."

"You're not funny," Dean snapped. He let go of Bray but kept glaring at him. "You could have gone for something else. Roman's got other things to use against him."

"Like what? The wife he can't be faithful to? His loving parents? Those annoying little Usos?" Bray saw that Dean was about to speak, but he didn't let him get another word out. He grabbed the smaller man and turned them around, slamming him up against the wall now. Dean gasped, his body immediately squirming in Bray's grasp. Bray held on to him tightly, slipping a leg between both of Dean's and pressing his thigh firmly against his groin. That got the blonde to freeze right the hell up. "Or how about you darlin? Should I use you?" He leaned in and started placing soft kisses all along Dean's neck. "Is that what you want little lamb? Do you want me to hurt you so you can be the martyr?" He lightly nipped on Dean's earlobe before pulling his head back and shaking his head. "I don't think so darlin. I'm not interested in indulging you on that one." He kissed Dean on the mouth, pushing his tongue in past his lips. Dean tried to jerk his head back, but Bray persisted. The fight in Dean didn't last long. It never did. He gave in, kissing Bray back desperately. One hand gripped Bray's shirt while the other grabbed a handful of his hair. So passionate was his Dean.

"You're a fucking dick," Dean muttered as they finally parted.

Bray rolled his eyes. "You say this as if I'm unaware of it."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Just stay away from Roman's daughter."

"Or what? What are you gonna do to me little lamb?"

"Nothing you'd actually like." Dean tried to push him away, but he refused to go anywhere.

"Shouldn't he be here? Why do you have to fight his battles?" Bray ran his tongue over his lips. The taste of his blood mixed with the lingering taste of Dean. It was a combination he loved. "Or did I rattle him so bad that he can't even face me?"

Dean stiffened. "I'm here because I thought maybe you would listen to me."

Maybe that was true. Bray didn't think Dean was really lying. But in no way did he believe it was just that. Reigns had been rattled. He knew he had gotten him for sure. But maybe he had underestimated just how much he had done it. The thought thrilled him to no end. Roman fancied himself as someone who was so strong. The world saw him that way. But he could prove that he wasn't. This was his chance to show the world that Reigns was just as weak as everyone else. He could shatter the world's perception of him being their Superman. He could show Dean what the other man really was.

"I need to go." Dean started trying to get free again. "Roman and I got a match to get ready for."

Bray allowed him to slip somewhat free before grabbing his arm to stop him. "Tell the brute I send my regards."

"Fuck you. I'm not telling him that shit."

"Then maybe I'll tell him myself."

Dean glared at him. "Bray I'm serious. Leave him the fuck alone."

"Come to my room tonight and convince me."

"Could I actually convince you, or are you just shitting me right now?"

"There's only one way to find out, now isn't there?"

Dean swallowed hard as he contemplated it. They both knew the offer was just a ploy. Bray just wanted Dean with him. That was all he ever wanted, though this time there was the added bonus of pulling him right out from Roman's grasp. And Dean would let himself fall for it. Bray knew he would. He would come up with every justification for it, when the simple truth of the matter was that he actually just wanted to. For all of his feelings toward Roman, he still had some for Bray himself. He tried harder to deny them, but they were there, keeping him coming back for more.

"Leave a key and an address in my bag and maybe I'll come." Dean pulled his arm free from Bray's grasp. "Assuming whatever stunt you're gonna pull tonight doesn't piss me off too much."

Bray grinned. "What makes you think I'm going to pull a stunt?"

"Because I know you. And nothing I do or say right now is gonna stop it."

That was a fair enough point. Bray could give him that one. He watched Dean leave, moving back to lean against the wall once the door was shut. He'd give it a few minutes before trying to track down Reigns. He wanted to see for himself just how rattled the brute was.

* * *

Roman could barely keep his eyes open even as he swallowed down some of his energy drink. This was the third he had consumed that day. There was no way this was healthy for him, but he didn't know what else to do. He hadn't slept at all the night before. Worrying about what Bray was up to combined with guilt over snapping at Dean had kept him awake. Now he couldn't afford to sleep. Not at work. He had to hope he could keep himself awake long enough to get through the tag match he and Dean had so he could go back to the hotel and try again. Maybe exhaustion would let him actually get some rest tonight.

He took another drink before setting the can down and rubbing his eyes. He didn't know where Dean was. He had taken off not long after they got to the arena. Things had been tense since Roman had put his foot in his mouth and asked Dean if he had known what Bray was going to do. He shouldn't have done it. The way he had said it basically accused Dean of knowing and just not doing shit about it. That hadn't been right. If Dean had known he would have warned him. He probably wouldn't have been able to stop Bray, but he would have told him instead of letting him get blindsided. Dean had his back when nobody else did.

Roman groaned and made himself get up. He was sitting in catering, hoping Dean would choose to come back to him. He really needed him. But for now he went over towards the food. He wasn't actually hungry, but he wanted to try to make himself eat something. No food with all the caffeine he had consumed was making his stomach hurt.

He grabbed the cake server and tried to get himself a piece of cheesecake. He almost had it on the plate when he someone's eyes on him. He turned, catching sight of Bray smirking at him. He scowled, immediately looking to put down his plate so he could go over and beat Wyatt's face in. His hands though, were far too tired and clumsy to manage it. The plate just slipped out of his hands instead, the sound of the glass shattering on the floor scaring the shit out of him. Why was that so loud? Why did they even have glass plates to begin with? He tried to shake all these questions off and focus on Wyatt. But by the time he had his head on halfway straight, Bray was gone. The bastard had disappeared as quickly as he had come, though Roman could swear he heard the asshole laughing even from here. "God fucking damn it," he muttered. He had sworn to himself he wouldn't let Wyatt get in his head. He swore he would push all the shit aside and just focus on kicking his ass.

Clearly, this was going to be a process that was much easier said than done.


	5. Chapter 5

They lost the match. Roman had hoped to avoid the result, but he didn't find himself surprised by it. Bray had shown up on the titan tron, singing to him and taunting him with the picture. It had even somehow ended up in the ring with him after. How it happened he didn't know. He didn't want to know. There was no answer he was going to like. So he just tried to push it to the back of his mind. He wanted to focus on getting his face to stop hurting. Sheamus had kicked the living shit out of him. He had ice on it and had taken some ibuprofen, but that had yet to really kick in. Hopefully it would soon. A not aching jaw would be much appreciated.

"You know I can carry that." He broke the silence that had fallen between him and Dean. They were walking to the hotel room and Dean had all of their stuff. Roman had tried to grab his own things, but Dean hadn't let him do it. He had insisted on taking everything and leading the way. They hadn't talked much since losing the match. Dean had been trying to pull him out of his own head before it. He had been trying to get him in the game. Roman had wanted to be in it for his sake. He had thought he was managing it as the match went on. But he had ultimately failed. Bray had gotten to him again. He knew what the bastard was like, yet he felt like he was just crumbling so easy.

"Just get the door open." Dean readjusted his grip on the bags, rolling his eyes when Roman tried to take them anyway. "Seriously Ro. Just get the fucking door."

"Alright alright." Roman pulled his key out of his pocket and slipped ahead so he could unlock the door. He opened it and stepped aside to let Dean go in first. He followed closely behind, shutting the door and putting the latch on it for good measure. He heard their bags being thrown to the floor. Normally he would have scolded Dean for it. He hated that habit of his. But tonight he didn't. Tonight he not only didn't care, but he wasn't given the opportunity for it. The moment he turned around he found himself being pushed up against the wall. "Dean what -"

Dean smashed their lips together, seemingly wanting that to answer the question. The kiss was sloppy, but it was hard to care when one of Dean's hands slipped down to rub his groin through his jeans. "Jesus," Roman groaned. He arched into the tough, his mouth starting to get into the groove of the kiss. "Dean holy shit."

Dean took a half a second to smirk before kissing him again. Roman moaned and let his hands slip underneath Dean's shirt. He ran his fingers up and down the heated flesh. Everything that had been going wrong lately seemed like a million miles away. The escape wouldn't last forever, but he was going to take it. He pushed himself away from the wall and snaked his arms around Dean's waist. They were stumbling towards the bed, their lips barely parting for breath. Roman didn't want to breathe. Dean could suck the very life out of him and he would be perfectly fine with that.

"I want you to fuck me." Dean broke the kiss and whispered the words into Roman's ear. His voice was all raspy and breathless, which was just the way Roman liked it best. It did things to him that nothing else could. "I want you to fuck me so hard." He bit down on Roman's earlobe, making the older man hiss. "Think you an do that Ro? Huh?"

Yeah. Roman was fairly certain he could. He pushed Dean down on to the bed, taking a moment to strip himself of his shirt before joining him. Their lips met again, teeth clicking and tongues dueling. Their hands worked desperately at each other's clothes, eagerness hindering their efforts. Finally they managed it and Roman found himself kissing his way down Dean's body. He already felt Dean's hands tangling in his hair, his scalp stinging from the tugging. It normally bothered him, but he didn't let it tonight. He was too desperate to stay in the bubble that only Dean could give him. It was when he was with Dean that everything actually felt right. There was a hole inside of him when the younger man wasn't around. It had been there long before they had become a thing, but he hadn't ever let himself think too much about it. It wasn't until they started sleeping together and growing closer instead of being in a constant competition with each other that he realized he couldn't hide from the truth any longer. The hole was there. It wasn't going away. In fact, it felt like it was growing bigger every time he couldn't be with Dean.

His hands moved Dean's legs over his shoulder as his tongue lightly traced over Dean's entrance. He hard Dean curse as his grip on his hair tightened. He circled Dean's hole slowly, teasing him a bit before pushing his tongue inside of him. They didn't do this a lot. It wasn't their thing. But he didn't feel like getting up and trying to figure out whose bag the lube was in. So there was just this, his tongue quickly fucking Dean while a hand slipped up Dean's body. He put his fingers against the dirty blonde's lips. Dean took them in his mouth eagerly, sucking and licking the digits until they were coated with an obscene amount of saliva.

"Fuck Dean..." Roman replaced his tongue with his fingers. He slipped them in one by one, his mouth now kissing Dean's inner thighs. There's marks there he don't like. Healed over cuts that surely came from a knife or something sharp like one. The first time he had ever seen them he had freaked out, completely thinking that they were self-inflicted wounds. Finding out they were from Bray hadn't made him feel better. He knew Dean had a thing for blood and pain during sex. It wasn't something they did together. Roman didn't like it. He had tried it when Dean had asked, but had ended up getting completely taken out of the mood when he had become convinced he was going too far. Dean had said it was okay and Roman for the most part believed him. But it was still too often that new cuts would appear, hidden in places where there was only an audience of three. There would be finger shaped bruises on Dean's hips, bruises from bite marks, bruises and raw skin where ropes or handcuffs dug into his wrists...they always bothered Roman, but never Dean. He hummed under his breath the mornings after, sated and relaxed in a way that was uncommon for him.

The feeling of their positions being flipped snapped Roman out of his thoughts. Dean had gotten impatient with him and was taking charge. He rested a hand on Roman's chest to steady himself as he guided Roman's cock where he wanted it. He sank down on to it, the both of them groaning at the feeling. Roman grabbed Dean's hips, his grip firm but not rough. He wanted to say something, but his mouth wasn't working so well right now. All he could do was watch Dean's face. His eyes had fluttered shut, his mouth hanging open as he moaned. He was so fucking gorgeous. Roman tried to tell him that, but the words were never believed. Dean didn't take compliments. He refused them, blowing them off as complete bullshit. It was frustrating as fuck.

Dean dug his bitten down nails into Roman's skin as he started to move. Roman matched him, thrusting up as Dean came down. Roman kept one hand on Dean's hip while the other grabbed the back of his head to pull him down for another kiss. Dean moaned into his mouth, his hands moving down on to the mattress to steady himself there. Their movements were rushed. Much too rushed. Roman wanted to slow down and savor every second, but Dean didn't allow it. He demanded harder. He demanded faster. Roman moved to give him those things, thrusting up harder than ever.

"Fuck," Dean moaned. One of his hands slipped down between their bodies and wrapped around his cock. He stroked himself furiously, his thumb swiping over the head to make himself shudder. "Fuck fuck fuck...come on Roman. Come on."

Roman tried to hold back. He liked to put Dean before himself. He wanted to make him cum first, but watching Dean stroke himself as he rode him was too much. He came first, Dean's name spilling off his lips. Dean's orgasm is quick to follow. It spilled all over his hand and on to their bodies. Roman swallowed hard as Dean just collapsed down right on top of him. His heart was still pounding away inside of his chest. His whole body felt weak and boneless; it was all he could do to get enough energy to wrap his arms around Dean and hold him there. He felt Dean's lips press against the crook of his neck. "Dean..." he ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. "I...you could come with me if you want."

"Come with you where Ro? Home?" Dean moved up enough to shake his head at him. "No. I've told you that before."

Even though Roman knew that was the answer he was going to get, his chest still ached hearing it. "But -"

"What are we gonna do Ro? Secretly fuck in your guest room? In a hotel?" Dean shook his head again and moved off of him. "No. Too risky."

"Since when do you care about risks?" Roman knew Dean was right. He really did. But being rattled the way he had made him not care. He wanted Dean to be close by. He wanted to be able to lean on him because he felt weak and he didn't know how to handle that.

"Since you apparently stopped." Dean wasn't taking the bait. He rolled off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Roman heard the sink being turned on. A few minutes later Dean emerged cleaned up and with a rag for Roman to do the same thing. "Look, I'm sorry alright? But you know that shit's a bad idea." He handed Roman the rag as he sat back down on the bed. "I know how this goes. We get found out, you'll lose the kid. You put her ahead of yourself and me that's how it has to be."

The matter of fact tone didn't fool Roman. He sensed the pain Dean felt. Understanding the decision didn't make it hurt less. Roman bit down on his lower lip. He felt like like the world's biggest asshole. "Dean..."

"Just go to sleep Roman."

"But -"

"Ro, seriously, just go the fuck to sleep."

Roman sighed in defeat and wiped himself clean before tossing the rag aside and closing his eyes. He didn't think he would actually sleep. Not with the way he was feeling. But exhaustion got the best of him, and the last thing he felt before drifting off was Dean's lips against his forehead.

* * *

Dean had waited until he had been sure Roman was completely passed out before moving off the bed once more. He had slipped some clothes on and grabbed his bags, knowing that whatever was going to happen with Bray would probably take the rest of the night. He had felt bad for leaving without saying where he was going. He really did. But there had been no good way to confess where he was going. There hadn't been even before Bray started messing with Roman's head. He supposed he could have said he hoped to convince Bray to leave Roman's family alone. He would if Roman figured it out and said something to him. But deep down, he knew it probably wasn't going to work. Not if he and Roman were staying a thing. Bray hated Roman for it. It didn't matter to him that Dean had been with Roman first. It didn't matter to him that Dean had been with Roman first. Bray wanted - no, _demanded_ \- all of his attention.

Bray's teeth in his neck brought him back in the moment. He was under the larger man, his nails digging into his back and his legs loosely wrapped around his waist. The entire column of his neck ached from where Bray had been biting him. That was fine though. The pain was good. It went straight down to his cock, making him more desperate for Bray's touch. "Oh god," he groaned. He turned his head, exposing more of his neck for Bray to attack.

"Such a perfect little lamb." Bray's tongue swiped across Dean's throat, licking up some of the blood he had drawn. "You should see yourself right now."

Dean said nothing, just gasping as he felt Bray bite him again. He was so close. He was so achingly close yet still so far. He tried to slip a hand down to touch himself, but Bray grabbed both of his wrists and pinned them down above his head. "Fuck!" He tried to slip out of the grip, but it was no use. "Bray please." He changed tactics, hoping that would work. "I just...fuck!" The rest of his plea was lost. He couldn't think straight enough to form the rest of the words.

Bray's mouth was against his ear, his hot breath making him shiver. He was saying all kinds of things, none of which Dean could actually understand. Fucker was speaking in tongues again. It shouldn't have been such a turn on, yet here he was, fucking shivering as he listened. Fucking Bray. He had a stupid god damn voice that was to blame. Even if he didn't listen or understand what was actually being said, the sound of it was still fucking mesmerizing.

Thrusts grew harder as the grip on his wrists grew tighter. Bray's voice was still in his ear, none of his words making any sense. It was all too much. Dean closed his eyes, wild moans continuously leaving his mouth. A sharp bite on his earlobe finally did him in. His body shuddered as he came, his mind fading out on him for a few moments. When he came back to himself, Bray had finished and was laying beside him, an arm possessively draped over him an his face still buried against his neck. He had finally shut up, though that wasn't something that would last long. It never did.

"Did I convince you?" Dean asked after he caught his breath and had his brain functioning a bit more again. He knew it was actually a useless question, yet here he was, pretending that it wasn't.

Bray let out something that was supposed to be a laugh, but it dies about halfway through. "You know I have no real interest in the little girl."

"He don't know that."

"He's an idiot."

Dean would have smacked him for that one if his limbs were actually functioning properly.

"The only time I've ever hurt a child was when I was one myself." Bray moved his head back and propped himself up on an elbow so he could look down on Dean's face. "I went in town with my father one day. He was getting supplies for his shrimp boat. Boy made fun of me for something. I don't even remember what now. I hit him in the face with a rock. Broke his nose and knocked out a few of his teeth."

Dean's lips twitched. He had plenty of stories like that himself. Kids had targeted him, both for his own attributes and for his mother's occupational choices. He had made sure they hadn't kept laughing at him. "How bad did your dad whoop ya?"

"I had marks for weeks from the belt. But I got the last laugh on him though."

That he had. Dean knew what he had done to his father. Years of abuse had made him snap, driving him to set the shrimp boat on fire and flee his home. He had confessed this months ago, and it hadn't ever bothered Dean. He knew what it was like. His mother had brought home shitty boyfriend after shitty boyfriend, most of which kicked the shit out of him. Some had been so bad that he had wished them dead. The only reason he hadn't done it himself was because he had lacked the guts.

Dean shook his head. He didn't need to think of that shit. He didn't need to be distracted. He had to get them back on track. "Just ease the fuck up off the kid, alright? You don't got to go there."

"And what do you suggest I do instead?" Bray sounded genuinely curious."

"I'd rather you just leave him the fuck alone."

"I can't do that little lamb."

"Why not?" Dean can't keep the frustration out of his voice. "Because he beat you in that match? Let it go."

"You know it's not actually about that one little match." Bray shook his head, moving some of his hair out of his eyes. "It's about knocking him down off that little pedestal he's unfairly placed on."

"He -"

"He's a liar."

"No he's not."

"Oh yeah? He lies to that wife of his. Goes home, plays the family man. Acts like he's still in love with her meanwhile he's been unfaithful to her for months. He tells you he loves you, but look at what he makes of you. You're his dirty little secret."

"I'm not..." The denial is futile. Dean knew Roman never intentionally tried to make him feel that way. Roman loved him. Roman cared about him. But that didn't change the fact that Bray technically was right. He was the dirty little secret. He was tucked away in hotel rooms and hidden parts of the arena because the precarious double life Roman had built himself would come crashing down if the wrong people found them out.

"I hate him for what he makes of you. I hate him for thinking he's better than me. I hate him for everything he stands for and I hate him for making you so blind to what he really is."

Dean swallowed hard. The venom in Bray's voice actually took him aback. "Bray..."

"There's only one thing that'll make me leave him be." Bray stroked his thumb over Dean's lower lip. "You walk away from him and I'll have no more quarrel with him."

Dean felt every part of him turn to stone. "You're...you're making me choose?"

"No. I'm not making you do anything darlin."

"But you just -"

"I'm telling you what would make me stop. I'm not saying you have to do it." Bray shook his head and let go of Dean's chin. "You're not ready for it yet. You have it in your head that you need both of us. You're selfish and that's fine. I'm selfish. He's selfish. We're all selfish little creatures running around making a mess of things. The only difference is, you and I don't pretend to not be. He...well, it's just like I said darlin. He's a liar."

Dean closed his eyes and heaved out a long sigh. If it was anyone else, he'd keep arguing. He wasn't one to give up a fight. But there was no winning against Bray when he was so set like this. Maybe someone else could get closer, but not him. It was never going to be him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** An early update this week since I managed to get it done.

* * *

If someone asked him what compelled to come all the way down here, Bray would be reluctant to answer. He should have just followed Dean to Vegas. That was what he had meant to do. But Roman's reaction to seeing him in catering along with Dean's pleas to leave the brute alone had piqued his curiosity. He had Roman rattled. Roman, who was such a pillar of strength, had begun to crack. He just couldn't leave that alone. He had to get a closer look. He had to see if he could exploit it further. Beating Reigns in the actual match come Battleground wouldn't be an easy feat. He needed to gain more on the psychological edge front.

So, with that firmly in mind, he found himself making the trip down to Florida instead of Nevada. He knew right where Reigns lived, so finding him wasn't a problem. He had learned that information long ago, filing it away in case it ever came in handy. Dean didn't even know that he knew. He would have told him if he asked; he wasn't one who went out of his way to lie to his little lamb. But since it never came up, he didn't feel bad for keeping his knowledge a secret. He also didn't feel too bad about stealing the key Roman had given Dean to his house. Why Dean would need it Bray didn't really know. He didn't really care. He just knew it was never really used, and that Dean still probably hadn't noticed it was gone. He wasn't the best at keeping track of those kinds of things.

Bray played with the key absently as he watched the scene unfold before him. Roman was in the yard with his little girl, the two of them playing in the swimming pool. She was having a good time, and he was certainly trying. But there was something off about him. A tenseness that shouldn't have been there. A light that was missing in his eyes. Bray almost wondered if Roman sensed he was there. But he quickly pushed that thought away. He didn't think Roman actually knew. Maybe the brute was paranoid and thinking it was possible, but he didn't actually know. Bray would fix that soon enough.

He slipped the key back into his pocket and moved away from the window. The house next door to Roman's was up for sale, and whoever had been in there last had forgotten to lock the back door. He had slipped in and found the room that gave him the view to Roman's yard. He couldn't stay for much longer. He couldn't risk someone coming back and finding him. But he would find somewhere else. He knew he would. He would find it and keep watch until the right moment came to confront Roman face to face.

They had an awful lot to talk about.

* * *

Roman sighed as he pulled the car into the driveway. He had spent the morning running errands while his wife and daughter were having a girls day with his mother and a couple of his aunts. They still weren't due back for a few hours, which was okay with him. The entire time he had been home he hadn't been able to shake the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't really identify what it was, but it was making him angry and causing him to snap at everyone around him. He couldn't keep doing that. He had to get himself calmed down. He had tried calling Dean, but the younger man hadn't answered him. He told himself that was normal. Dean was the worst person at answering any call or text he got. But the lack of response still made Roman twist up inside. He knew he shouldn't have asked Dean to come home with him. He shouldn't have tried to put him in an even more awkward position than he already was in. But he hadn't been able to help himself. He had gotten overwhelmed by all the shit that had been happening since Money in the Bank. He had wanted to have Dean closer to him to draw strength from him. But that wasn't fair. Dean was trying to be there for him as much as he could. Doing too much would give them away. Dean needed to spend their time off on his own so nobody would get suspicious.

 _Who says he's even on his own? He could be with Bray right now._

Roman tried to shake off that thought. That wasn't what he needed to think about right now. Yet now that it had come up, it wasn't going to leave his mind. It would be just like Bray to slither in by Dean's side when he wasn't around. That was how it had even started. Roman had returned at TLC to find out they were fucking. By New Years it had turned into something more serious. Dean had tried to play it off, but the fact that their little thing had lasted so long betrayed him. Dean didn't stick around for too long in relationships unless he really felt something. What those exact feelings were towards Bray was something Roman didn't know. He really didn't want to know.

Roman groaned as he unlocked his front door. He really had to stop thinking so much. It wasn't good for him. Maybe he just needed to go change his clothes and head for the gym. He could go work out, clear his head and maybe put himself into a better mood. It wasn't a fool proof idea, but it was better than nothing.

He walked through the house and went upstairs, absently humming the last song he had heard on the radio. He slipped into his bedroom, not bothering to close the door behind him. Instead he just went to the dresser and pulled out an old tank top and a pair of gym shors. He changed as he continued to hum, capping off the wardrobe by grabbing a ponytail from the top of the dresser and pulling his hair back into his bun.

"You're not really leaving me already are you?"

Roman nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of that voice. He whirled around, his heart sinking down past his stomach and crashing down somewhere on the floor. Bray was leaning up against the doorway, watching him with an almost bored expression on his face. Roman opened his mouth, his mind screaming at him to say something. But nothing came out. Not an order for Bray to leave. Not a demand to tell him what he was doing in there. Not even a threat to call the police. He just stood there, struck dumb by both Bray's audacity to just come in and confusion of how he had gotten there.

"This is a nice little place you got." Bray took his silence in stride. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his gaze leaving Roman just long enough to take a quick look around the bedroom. "Not really my style, but it fits the little persona you've got going."

"How the fuck did you get in here?" Roman finally managed to at least get that out.

Bray just smirked. "Oh, I can't tell you that. I got to have my secrets."

Hit him. His brain kept screaming that at him, but Roman's body wouldn't move. He was still way too shocked and now totally freaked out to obey his brain's order. Had he left something unlocked before leaving? A door, a window? He hadn't thought so. He never did that. That wasn't like him. But how else could Bray have gotten in? Nobody had been home to let him in. He couldn't have broken in because the alarm would have gone off. "Get out." He finally just had to say that. It didn't matter how Bray had done it. What mattered was getting him the hell out.

"No."

"No?"

"No." The simplicity of the answer was infuriating.

"Get the fuck out of here Wyatt." Roman dropped his voice to a growl, his fists clenching up at his side. "Before I fucking make you."

Bray laughed at him. The son of a bitch actually laughed at him. "Do it then." He moved himself off the doorway and stretched his arms out, inviting Roman to come at him. "Come on. I dare you."

Roman had to act now. This was his house. Bray had no right to be here. He couldn't let the bastard get away with messing with him like this. He lunged, crashing his shoulder into Bray's stomach. They fell down to the floor, Bray using the momentum to roll himself on top and throw the first punch. Roman felt his lip split on impact. The taste of his own blood filled his mouth. He renewed his struggles, managing to get on top and throwing some punches of his own. The sound of Bray laughing was ringing in his ears. No matter how hard he hit, Bray didn't act the least bit bothered. He was mocking him. He was fucking mocking him.

Roman managed to stand up and grabbed Bray by the front of his shirt. He hauled the bastard up and slammed him up against the wall. "This is my HOUSE!" He barely noticed the spit that flew out of his mouth as he snarled. "This is my FAMILY!" He was nearly shaking he was so angry. "If you got such a problem with me, then come at me. You leave them out of this."

Bray just laughed again. His mouth and nose were bleeding profusely, but still he laughed. "Do you really think this is about them Reigns?" He shook his head. "I couldn't care less about them if I tried."

"Then why -"

"Bring the little girl up?" Bray licked his lips, his expression going a bit more serious. "Because you make it so easy. Little thing has you wrapped around her finger. She makes you weak. She makes you stay in a loveless marriage -"

"You don't know anything about my marriage."

"You cheat on her and profess your love for your best friend. What more do I need to know?" Bray turned his head and spat a mouthful of blood down on to the floor. "You don't love her. Not anymore. Not like you say you love my little lamb."

Roman bristled. "Is this what this is really all about Wyatt? Dean?" He didn't know why he sounded so surprised. He really should have figured as much.

Bray sneered at him. "You don't deserve him."

"Look who's talking." Roman tightened his grip and looked at Bray in disgust. "You're a monster."

"You think he doesn't know that?" Bray started to smile again. "Little lamb knows what I'm capable more than anyone. Yet he doesn't run away from me. He never has."

"Give him time. I'm sure he'll get sick of you sooner than later."

"Oh you think so? Because you know him so very well?"

"Better than you."

"Oh no. Not better than me." Bray shoved Roman back and moved away from the wall. "You think you know him best, but there are parts of him you can't touch. He hides them from you because he knows you won't understand. You could never understand."

"Bullshit." Roman's voice didn't sound as sure as he tried to make it.

"You wish it was." Bray was getting more smug now that he noticed how Roman faltered.

"No. It's bullshit," Roman insisted. "Dean's my -"

"Whore. That's what you make of him."

Roman's eyes narrowed. "I don't -"

"Oh yes you do. You talk about how much you love him, but you don't really show it. Not where it matters." Bray waved his hand around, gesturing not only to the room, but the house in general. "You keep up this facade. You want to be the family man. You want to be the hero to the little children across this country. You want to be the face of the company. Dean doesn't fit into those plans, but you just can't let him go." Bray chuckled softly. "I can understand it. I really can. I know what it's like to feel that way." He took a step forward, leaning in so he could speak more softly. "You want to know the real difference is between you and me Roman? For as selfish as I am - for being the monster children like your daughter have in their nightmares - I'll gladly give every little part of myself to him." He put a hand over his chest. "If he wanted my still beating heart I would rip it out of my chest with my bare hands." He pointed up towards the ceiling. "If he wanted every star up in the sky he would have them." His hand trailed down towards the floor. "If he wanted me to burn this world to the ground, then there would be nothing left standing besides me and him." He finally pointed to Roman now. "What do you give him? I know what you take from him. We all know that. But what do you give to him?"

Roman couldn't speak. He tried to speak. Tried to mount a defense. But nothing came out. What did he really give Dean? He didn't want to ask himself this question. Not when it was Wyatt who was the one posing it. Wyatt was evil. Wyatt just wanted to mess with him. But he just couldn't push the question aside. What did he really give Dean? He couldn't really think of anything. He was putting Dean in the position to be seen as the other man. As the homewrecker, if what they were doing got out. He gave Dean a cross to bear while telling him that while he loved him, it just wasn't enough to leave him and allow them to fully be together. That wasn't fair.

"You can go and tell him I was here if you want." Bray spoke again when Roman stayed silent. "I don't expect you to keep it a secret." He stepped closer, his smugness growing the longer Roman stayed quiet. "But just know this: no matter how pissed he gets, no matter how much of a fit he tries to throw on your behalf, he won't leave me. He won't really try to stop me. Because no matter his feelings for you, at the end of the day, he knows he's the brightest star in my sky. And for him that'll win out over you whether he realizes or not."

"Get out." That was all Roman finally managed to say. His voice wasn't anywhere near as authoritative as it should have been. His chest was hurting, his head was swimming, his stomach was twisting itself into knots. He was sick of Bray. He was sick of himself. He was sick of everything.

Bray didn't say anything more. He just gave one last laugh, completely pleased with himself. Roman swings at him again, though this time it's more half-hearted. Bray easily caught his wrist and held it tight. Roman expected him to do something violent, like throw a punch himself or break his arm. What he didn't expect was the kiss that was placed on the back of his hand. He instantly recoiled, nearly hurting himself as he yanked himself free of Bray's grasp. The reaction seemed to please Bray. He was just fucking with him again. Roman wanted to scream at him to get out, but the words didn't get a chance to leave his mouth. Bray turned on his heels and left, still more than pleased with himself. Roman stayed absolutely still until he heard the door open and slam shut. Hopefully that meant Bray was actually gone.

"Fuck!" Roman stumbled back, his legs giving out on him when he hit the bed. He sank on to the mattress, hating how fucked up he felt. He wanted to feel angrier. He wanted to explode in a rage, but it wasn't there. Bray's words kept repeating themselves in his brain, fucking him up more than he wanted them to. "Fuck fuck fuck!"

* * *

Dean sighed as he rolled over yet again. Sleep was alluding him yet again. It wasn't a surprise; he had struggled with insomnia for years now. But tonight was a particularly bad night. It was nearly four in the morning and he hadn't slept a wink. He hated it. He wanted to get up and ram his head into the wall so hard he knocked himself out. The massive headache he would have later on would be worth the rest. But that would only be if he succeeded. Knowing his luck, he would probably just hurt himself and would spend the rest of the night awake because of the pain.

"God damn it." He sat up, intending just to give up completely. He still had some more time off. He was only doing the Sunday house show in Portland this weekend. Why he wasn't booked on Friday or Saturday he didn't know. He hadn't asked. He had been too preoccupied to. But it was fine with him at this point. He was going to need the extra time to recover from this long night.

He grabbed his cell phone off the bedside dresser. He ran his thumb over the screen, biting down on his lower lip. Roman had tried to call him the past morning, but Dean had left his phone in the car and hadn't realized it until after he ate dinner. He had returned the call, but had only gotten Roman's voicemail. He had left a message, but still hadn't gotten anything back. Not a return call, not a text message - Dean knew that shouldn't bother him. Roman was probably just busy. He had his own shit to do. He couldn't just wait around for Dean to finally get his shit together with his phone. Yet even as he told himself that, he couldn't shake off feeling bothered by the silence on the other end.

"Get a fucking grip," he muttered, scolding himself because he was an idiot. He put the phone away and got up. He walked out to the living room, shivering a bit as he went. No matter how warm it was, he always got cold in the middle of the night. He wasn't really sure why that was.

He had barely gotten sat down on the couch when his front door opened. There was no sense of alarm on his part. He knew who it was. His exhaustion didn't really let him realize he was smiling as Bray walked in. "Hey."

"Hello darlin." Bray shut the door and locked it behind him. Officially he hadn't been given a key. He had just stolen the spare one Dean had. But Dean hadn't made him give it back. At first he had just been too lazy to have the fight. But soon it became...nice. Well, as nice as something involving Bray Wyatt could be. Bray always seemed to know when he needed him most and showed up accordingly. "Can't sleep?"

Dean shook his head.

"Nightmares again?"

"Nah. It's just...because."

Bray just nodded. He wasn't much for sleep either, so he understood. He kicked off his shoes and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Dean. Dean immediately laid down and handed the remote over. He didn't give a shit what was put on. "Why's your face all bruised?" he asked.

"Don't worry about that." Bray slipped his fingers in Dean's hair, lightly scratching his scalp. "Just go to sleep."

Dean would have kept bugging him about it if he were any less tired. As it was though, he closed his eyes again, sighing as the feeling of Bray's fingers massaging his scalp and the sound of his humming lulled him to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_"What do you give him?"_

The question kept haunting Roman long after Bray had left. He hated that it was. He wanted to push it out of his mind completely. He didn't need to take shit Bray Wyatt said seriously. That was only going to get him in trouble. But as it seemed to be the case lately, he couldn't seem to help himself. It wasn't like Bray was wrong. He didn't feel like he really gave Dean anything. Not anything he deserved anyway. Dean deserved the world. Dean had gone through far too much crap in his life and still came out of it one of the strongest and best people Roman knew. He knew Dean didn't believe it, but he believed it to be completely true.

He took one hand off the wheel so he could run it through his hair. He was on his computer, double checking the information for his flight in the morning. He had to start his weekend of house shows the next night. Usually he had no problem with it. They were usually more fun. Hunter and Stephanie weren't ever at them, which meant a lot less bullshit that had to be dealt with. But Roman needed to see Dean, and he wouldn't get to until Monday. Dean wasn't scheduled for a house show until Sunday, and even then, it wouldn't be the same one as him. That would give them two days to actually be together. That wasn't enough. Trying to get him on the phone for the other couple wasn't enough. Not now anyway. Not after the conversation with Bray. He needed to see Dean. He fucking needed it like crazy.

He glanced down at his phone. Maybe he could call Dean and see if he could get him to come to his first two shows so they could get some sort of time together. The thought blossomed in his brain, but as quickly as it started, he made himself shake it off. He needed to do something for Dean. He needed to go out of his way for him instead of the other way around.

His eyes went back to his computer. He just stared at it for a few minutes, frustration getting the best of him. He was about to close his laptop and go find something to take it out on when a new idea came to him. One that would get him in a fair amount of trouble, but that was about the last thing he cared about now. He could get himself out of it somehow later. Dean was what mattered right now. And he was going to make damn sure that he knew it.

* * *

Bray stayed with Dean until late Saturday morning, where he had to take off for his house show. He almost didn't leave, finding it much more appealing to stay in bed with Dean. Hands and lips had been what woke Dean up, working him into such a state that he almost told Bray to just skip the show and stay longer. He had managed to hold that request back though. Asking for that was a can of worms he didn't need to open, no matter how he didn't feel like being alone. Once Bray was gone he texted Roman and then slipped into the shower. Roman was probably on a plane, so he wasn't expecting an immediate text back. He took an extra long time in the bathroom, just letting himself soak in the hot water. He would never admit it in a thousand years, but it was probably a good thing he had an extra days off. His knee still felt pretty terrible, and his bad shoulder was giving him issues again. He silently cursed Regal yet again for it. He should have done worse to the fucker. It would have been well deserved.

Dean slipped out of the shower once the water started to run cold. He did a quick, half assed job of drying off before going back to his bedroom. He slipped on a pair of sweatpants and an old faded shirt that was fairly certain actually belonged to Roman. He couldn't remember if it had just gotten thrown in his bag by mistake or if he had stolen it on purpose. It didn't really matter. It was soft and comfortable and perfect for the lounging about he was fixing to do. Between his knee and his shoulder, he was giving in and taking a complete lazy day.

He wandered back out to the living room and was about to sit down when he heard a knock on his door. "The fuck?" he muttered under his breath. His first thought was that Bray had come back, but he quickly remembered that he wouldn't have knocked. "Fuck." He went to the door, trying to ignore the fact that he was limping. He opened the door, his eyes widening as he found Roman standing on the other side. He was the last person he expected to see. "Ro? The fuck are you doing here?"

Roman's lips twitched. He looked nervous, which just confused Dean even more. Roman wasn't the type to get nervous. "I uh, had to see you." He adjusted his grip on his bag. "Can I come in?"

Dean stepped aside to allow just that. "You had to see me?" He closed the door behind him and folded his arms over his chest. "Why? What happened?" Something had to have happened. Roman was supposed to be somewhere in Arkansas right now. "Are you hurt? Jesus Ro, did you fucking get hurt?"

Roman shook his head. "No. I'm fine. I just...I had to see you." He let his bag just drop down to the floor. "I was gonna call you, but that just...it didn't feel right. I had to tell you in person."

"Tell me what?" Dean was starting to feel really freaked out. He didn't know where Roman was going with this. He wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

"You know I love you, right?" Roman swallowed hard, the look in his eyes betraying his claim to be fine. "Like, I don't just say that. I really do mean it."

"Roman..."

"And I know I put you through a lot of shit." Roman stumbled over his words in his haste to keep going. "You fucking deserve a whole lot better than me. I know that. I know I'm selfish for wanting you and still keeping them. I just...I don't know what the fuck I'm doing." He let out a short, awkward laugh. "I came up with a better speech when I was on my way here, I swear."

Dean was sure he did. He didn't need to hear it though. He wasn't good with talking about shit like this. He didn't know what it would change anyway. Roman felt guilty, but he was fucked up in the head. Dean didn't want them to continue the conversation and have Roman saying shit that he wished he didn't later.

"I -"

Dean closed the distance between them, both hands grabbing Roman by either side of his head so he could shut him up with a kiss. Roman stiffened momentarily before moaning and returning the kiss eagerly. This was good. This was better. He could do this. He slipped his tongue past Roman's lips, his hands moving down to run all along the larger man's body. Roman shivered, his own hands trying to pull off the shirt Dean had on. He didn't seem to notice it was actually his. Or maybe he just didn't care. That was probably the case at the moment.

Roman broke he kiss and kept tugging at the shirt, prompting Dean to finally raise his arms. Roman slid the shirt off easily and tossed it aside carelessly. His lips immediately went back on Dean, staying on his lips briefly before moving all across his jaw and then down to his neck. Dean shivered and tilted his head back, letting Roman have even more access to his throat. His hands started tugging on Roman's shirt as well, but Roman grabbed his hands and stopped him.

"Nuh uh." Roman's mouth barely stopped in it's trail to his collarbone as he spoke. "Wanna take care of you."

"You can be shirtless while you do it," Dean grumbled. He kept tugging on Roman's shirt, not satisfied with it still being on. "Come on. Fucking strip mother fucker."

Roman huffed out a laugh before finally obliging Dean. His shirt went flying the same direction as Dean's did. "Better?"

Dean had barely started to nod before Roman's lips were on him yet again. They started back at his collarbone before going across to his shoulders and then down to his chest. Their feet started moving, not stopping until Dean was back first against the wall. Roman sank down to his knees, his kisses moving across Dean's stomach as his fingers slipped past the waistband of Dean's sweatpants and pulled them down. "No underwear?"

"Didn't feel like putting any on." Dean felt his mouth go dry as he watched Roman kiss his way across his thighs. His cock twitched, so desperate to feel Roman's hot, wet mouth around it. "Are you actually gonna suck me, or are you gonna just drive me crazy all day?"

"Don't tempt me." Roman wrapped his hand around Dean's length and gave it a couple of slow, teasing strokes before taking it into his mouth.

"Fuck!" Dean had to fight to just not start thrusting into Roman's mouth. He wanted to; he wanted to so badly that he couldn't even think straight. But he kept himself still, distracting himself by watching Roman go. The slight it of teasing aside, he wasn't wasting any time. He took as much of Dean in his mouth as he could, his hand stroking what he couldn't get. His eyes were closed and his cheeks were hollowed, creating the tightest suction he could around Dean's cock. "Fuck fuck fuck." Dean swallowed hard as he kept his eyes glued on Roman. He couldn't get himself to say anything more coherent than that.

Roman kept going, sucking his cock with a desperate eagerness that wasn't like him. He moved his hand away, forcing himself to take every inch of Dean in his mouth. Dean reached down and gripped his fingers in Roman's hair. He wanted this to last as long as possible. He wanted to watch Roman like this forever. But he couldn't. There was no way to hold himself back for too long. Heat coursed through his body, and he gave a mangled sort of groan as a warning before he came. Roman swallowed down his load eagerly, finally pulling away when Dean was twitchy and oversensitive. He kissed all along Dean's thighs before standing up, panting for breath and looking at Dean for some kind of approval.

"Come here." Dean pulled Roman in for a kiss. He tasted himself on the older man's lips, and he let out a small moan.

"M'not going to the show," Roman mumbled against his mouth.

"No?"

"Uh uh."

"Why not?"

"Wanna be with you."

Dean frowned and pulled back. This wasn't like Roman. Not in the very fucking least. He didn't miss a show unless he was practically dying. Something was definitely wrong. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Don't fucking lie to me dude. I know you better than that." He grabbed Roman by the chin and stopped him from trying to kiss his neck again. "What the fuck happened?"

Roman hesitated before letting out a defeated sigh. "Bray was in my fucking house."

"What?" Dean hadn't expected to hear that one. Maybe he should have. Bray hadn't shown up to his apartment until very early Thursday morning. That had been plenty of time for him to go and cause some trouble.

"He was in my fucking house." Roman sighed and ran a hand down over his face. "I don't know how the fuck he got in. But he just...he's getting to me. I know I can't let him. I know that. I fucking know it, but he's fucking with my head."

"What did he say to you exactly?"

"Just his usual shit alright?" Roman was a little too eager to sweep it under the rug. There had definitely be more than his usual shit. "I just want to forget about it." He grabbed Dean's hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. "Can we just...can we just have today? Please?"

Dean just nodded. Maybe he needed to get what exactly happened out of Roman, but he wouldn't do it yet. He didn't want to push him. He could give him the day though. That he was more than willing to do.

* * *

"You fucking little cocksucker!"

Roman laughed loudly as Dean's curse immediately followed his strike. They had ventured out of the apartment at Roman's insistence. Whether he acknowledged it or not, Bray's dig about essentially using Dean for sex was weighing heavily on him. With the kind of schedule they had, and the kind of secrecy he was putting on them, it had just become one of the primary things they did. They couldn't afford to go out and do things as a couple unless they were sure nobody from the roster would run into them. There wouldn't be an issue of that today. There wasn't a show there and Dean was the only one who lived there. So here they were, being much more open than they ever usually dared to be at the bowling alley. Nobody around them seemed to know who they were. The kids hadn't come clamoring for autographs, and the only people who had been giving them second looks had been a group of teenage girls, who were very disappointed when Dean hadn't realized they were watching and groped Roman's ass on his way back from getting their beers and French fries.

"Fucking seriously Rome. This is fucking bullshit." Dean folded his arms over his chest and glared at him. "Quit hitting all these fucking strikes. You promised me a good clean game, not a fucking slaughter."

"It's not that bad," Roman denied. He sat back down and grabbed a few French fries. "I'm only beating you by like...oh." His objection died as he looked at the score and realized he was winning by nearly fifty points. "Shit."

"Yeah." Dean grabbed a few French fries of his own and shoved them angrily into his mouth. "Fucker."

"Sorry man." Roman ate his fries much more slowly. "Just stop sucking so much. You'll be fine."

"Oh fuck you Ro." Dean stood up and wiped the salt off his fingers on his jeans before going up to take his turn. Roman stayed quiet as he watched, remembering how Dean had blamed him being noisy for him throwing a gutter all earlier. He knew damn well that actually had nothing to do with it, but there was no telling Dean that. He was much too stubborn to listen to reason.

"Come on come on come - oh fucking hell!" Dean's yelling got them more than a few stares. Not that he remotely cared. He was too busy being the absolute sorest of losers becaue he got a split. "Roman did you jinx my ball?"

"How could I jink your ball?" Roman asked the question out of pure curiosity. He wasn't even trying to patronize Dean. But with the way Dean turned around to glare at him, he found himself putting his hands up in surrender. "I did nothing to your ball! I swear!"

"Fuck if you didn't." Dean grabbed his ball as it came back to him. He took his second turn, not even getting just one of his two remaining pins. "Oh fucking forget it." He stomped back over to their table and sat down. "I'm using your ball next time. I know you didn't put the voodoo on that."

Roman almost pointed out that changing the ball wouldn't actually improve Dean's lackluster bowling skills, but decided he valued not having his face bit off too much to risk it. "Whatever you say man." He leaned over and gave Dean a long kiss. Maybe that would bring him some luck. "Whatever you say."

* * *

After bowling they ended up just wandering up and down the strip, going into different stores just to look around. They left their phones in the car, both ignoring all the calls they were getting from the road agents. They both knew what it was. It was the questions of where the hell Roman was. Neither one of them wanted to think about that. They had fallen into their own private bubble and neither wanted to leave.

Roman's hand stayed in Dean's as they wandered through the music store. It had been Dean's idea to come in there, despite Roman's well natured teasing that nobody actually bought CDs anymore. It wasn't like Dean gave a shit. He wasn't much good at computers and downloading things. He never had been and never would be.

"I'll just buy you an I-pod," Roman offered yet again. He readjusted his grip on Dean's hand, making sure their fingers were laced together. He really liked doing that. He wanted to make them fit completely together. "I can even put the music on it too. I know what you like."

"And what do I do if I break the damn thing?" Dean was not about to be swayed on the matter. "It's not worth it."

Roman rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Dean."

"Nope." Dean moved them away from the country music section and over towards the classic rock. "You can't make me do it."

"What if I convinced you?"

"Is convincing me just you putting my dick in your mouth again?"

Roman grinned. "To be fair, I did learn that tactic from you."

Fair enough point. "Maybe I'll allow it then," Dean said.

Roman's grin got bigger. "Oh yeah?" He slid an arm around Dean's waist and pulled him in close. "Maybe?"

"Maybe." Dean reached up with his free hand to grip Roman's chin. "You better be ultra convincing though."

"I think I can manage that."

* * *

The trip to the music store was followed by dinner, which was then followed by more wandering around Las Vegas. Roman hadn't actually ever gotten to really explore the city before. The only other times he had been there was when they had shows, which didn't leave much time for extra activities. Dean was more than happy to show him around. He had a story for nearly everything, almost all of which Roman had heard at some point before. Not that he pointed that out. He could hear them a million times over and he wouldn't really mind. He liked listening to Dean talk. He liked the way his blue eyes would twinkle and how his dimple would show through when he smiled. He liked how relaxed Dean was. He loved knowing he was one of the very few Dean would get that way with. There was more he loved; he felt like he could go on for hours quite frankly. If Dean even guessed what he was thinking, he would slap him upside the head for being so damn mushy.

When they finally got back to Dean's apartment their clothes didn't make it with them to the bedroom. They were lucky to even make it on the bed. Roman fell on top of Dean and stayed there, moving in him eagerly. Dean's nails dug into his back, teeth sinking into Roman's shoulder. Roman groaned, moving faster and harder. His mouth moved all over Dean's neck and shoulder, sucking on the skin and tracing the marks he left behind. He felt Dean's legs wrap around his waist, pulling him in deeper. His own hand drifted between their bodies, wrapping around Dean's length and stroking. They came together, the other's name pouring off their lips. Roman collapsed on top of him, his face buried in the crook of Dean's neck. It felt like time had stopped, and Roman would have given anything to have it stay that way. He didn't want to think about how time was running out on them. Dean was supposed to leave in the morning and the reality of skipping out on a show was going to come rearing its head. He didn't know what the hell he was going to tell them. He hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Ro, I hate to break this to you, but we're gonna be like, glued together with my cum if we don't clean up." Dean moved some of his hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. "Come on. Move it you big lug."

Roman smiled weakly and rolled off him. Dean scooted off the bed and went off to the bathroom. He came back a few minutes later all cleaned off and with a rag for Roman to wipe himself off with. Roman thanked him, cleaned off and just tossed it aside. He'd wash it later.

"What do ya wanna watch?" Dean asked as he grabbed the TV remote and laid back down.

"Don't care," Roman mumbled. He draped an arm over Dean and rested his head against his chest. "You pick."

"You sure about that?"

"Mhm." Roman closed his eyes, not actually falling asleep as Dean flipped through the channels. He just needed to bask in this. He needed to feel how perfect this was. How right everything felt. He was being selfish again, ignoring his responsibilities and obligations and whatever. But he couldn't bring himself to care. He just wanted to keep things like this. Maybe he could find a way to end things with his wife and find a way to somewhat keep his daughter. He didn't know how; his brain wasn't working quite well enough to formulate an actual doable plan. All it was letting him see was the desired end result. Him and Dean living down in Florida, together and having his kid on the days they could be home. No repercussions for their affair, no Bray, no issues. It was the most unrealistic of endings. Something would go wrong. It had to. Even if he got out of his marriage without completely fucking things up, getting rid of Bray would be easier said than done. But he didn't let himself think too much about that. He just embraced the fantasy, letting it swirl around in his brain while he listened to Dean's heart beating with one ear, and the younger man cursing about a lack of TV options with the other


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Early update this week because I wanted this done so I didn't have to rush and post this at six in the morning.

* * *

Dean was usually never the one to wake up first. His insomnia tended to keep him up so late that he had a hard time getting up and moving. But here he was now, wide awake at six in the morning. His flight didn't leave until noon, which meant he had a bit more time to sleep. Yet he didn't even attempt it. It never did any good, and it certainly wouldn't when he had so much shit on his mind.

He looked at Roman, who was still fast asleep next to him. They never did get into what exactly it was Bray said to him that got into his head so much. Roman hadn't wanted to talk about it and Dean hadn't pushed him. They also hadn't gotten into what Roman was going to say in regards to explaining why he missed the house show yesterday. Everyone was going to want to know. The agents, Hunter, Stephanie, their co-workers, Roman's wife - everyone was going to be asking questions that they couldn't fully answer. And even if they came up with something that satisfied all parties, there would still be consequences for Roman to face. Missing shows was completely frowned on unless one was really, really sick or injured. Roman was neither one of those things. Roman's lip was a bit fat and bruised, but that wasn't enough to miss a show over.

He sighed and ran his hands over his face. Everything was such a fucking mess. The situation with Bray and Roman was spiraling even more out of control. That wasn't good, considering the fact that Money in the Bank was just last week. They still had miles to go before they even reached Battleground. His head started to hurt at that mere thought. He wanted this to all be over. No matter which one of them won or lost, he just wanted wanted to have some resemblence of peace again.

But maybe that was just asking for too much. Bray didn't want peace. He had started this war with Roman and he would be looking to finish it. And Roman wasn't the type to back down once he had been challenged. Even with his head being messed up, he would still fight. That was just his nature. Dean knew in his heart that one of them would end up hurt. Maybe both of them would. And he didn't want to see it happen. Roman meant the world to him. He was the best friend he had ever actually had; the others in his life had either betrayed him or walked away because they couldn't handle him. Not Roman though. Roman stayed. Maybe he wouldn't forever, but Dean still loved him for sticking around for as long as he had, even if he didn't say it. And Bray was...well, he was Bray. He had settled himself in, becoming such a presence in his life that Dean had a hard time imagining what it would be like without him. With all the uncertainty that came with Roman, Bray never wavered. There wasn't anyone or anything that could take him away. Dean didn't let himself think about loving Bray too, mostly because that scared the shit out of him. He was good at loving something he either couldn't have at all or loving something he could lose oh so easily. Loving the attainable wasn't something he really knew how to do.

The sound of his phone going off made him groan. He slipped out of bed and went over to his discarded jeans to fish it out of his pocket. He didn't recognize the number he saw on his screen. He thought about not answering it, but decided to say fuck it and accepted the call. "What?"

"Hello to you too Ambrose."

Dean's eyes narrowed. Hunter's voice was about the last one he wanted to hear. "The fuck do you want? How'd you even get my number?"

"You do remember that I'm your boss, right?" Even though he couldn't be seen, Hunter was surely rolling his eyes. "I have your contact information."

"Well why the fuck are you using it?" Dean had no patience for this. "The fuck do you want?"

"Two things," Hunter snapped. "One: where the fuck is Roman?"

"Fuck if I know." Yes, Dean totally went with the lie. He still didn't know what Roman wanted to say, and not being helpful would piss Hunter off, which he loved doing. "I haven't like, planted a tracking device in his ass or anything."

"Don't get cute with me Ambrose. I'm not in the mood."

"That's too bad. I think I'm lovely when I'm cute." Dean snickered as he heard Hunter growl on the other end. "The fuck else did you want?"

"Police from Cincinnati called us and -"

"I didn't do it."

"I didn't say you did it!"

"You were going to."

"Ambrose, I swear to god, I will strangle you the next time I see you."

"That's not very professional Hunter."

"Your mother overdosed. They contacted us because they didn't have your number. I'd just pass them off to you, but you put in a request for us to never give that out to either her or anyone looking on behalf of her. Which, I gotta say, is a little cold. She's your mother."

Dean balled the hand not holding his phone into a fist. "I don't want nothing to do with her. She's not my problem."

"And getting these calls isn't supposed to be mine," Hunter countered.

"Then tell them to fuck off if they call back. I'm not dealing with it." Dean hung up the phone without another word. "Fuck!" He tossed it over on to his desk, not giving a shit if it broke or not. This was the last shit that he wanted or needed right now. He had left home at seventeen to get away from her. His entire life had pretty much been him taking care of himself, because she was too fucked up to raise him properly. He endured her neglect spawned by her drug and alcohol use. He endured abusive boyfriend after abusive boyfriend. He endured drug dealer after drug dealer trying to shake down money from him because she was too useless to pay what she needed to. He had left to get away from all that, but still, every now and then, she had a way of popping up once again. She had shown up at an HWA show when he was nineteen, high as could be and screaming at him for leaving her. She called him when he was in CZW, swearing up and down she had seen the light and wanted him to go follow Jesus with her or something. The last time she had called, he had been in FCW and she wanted money from him. Not that he gave her any. He would be damned if he gave her one penny. She didn't deserve it.

"Dean?" Roman didn't sound totally awake even as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Dean just shook his head. He didn't want to talk about this right now. He didn't have the energy for it. "Nothin'. I'm just gonna shower." He walked back over to the bed and kissed Roman on the forehead. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake ya up for breakfast."

Roman mumbled something incoherent before letting his head hit the pillow and falling asleep once again.

"That's right you big lug." Dean patted Roman's cheek affectionately. "Fucking sleep. At least one of us can do it."

* * *

Despite Dean's attempts to deny it, Roman knew something was wrong with him. He could see it in the way Dean stomped around, scowling as he got packed up and ready to go. He tried to hold back his questions, wanting Dean to bring it up on his own. But Dean didn't. Dean kept looking over at him, but when he finally spoke it wasn't what Roman wanted to hear.

"The fuck are you going to tell them?"

"Who?"

"Everyone." Dean rolled his eyes, acting as if Roman should have known he was talking about. "About where you were yesterday."

Right. Missing the show. Roman groaned and braced both hands against the bed. He was sitting on the mattress as Dean packed. "I'll just say Bray ambushed me or something. Like, hit me on the back of the head, left me in the middle of nowhere. Couldn't get a hold of anyone."

Dean just grunted. Roman couldn't tell if it was a grunt of approval or not. He sighed. He couldn't hold back from asking any longer. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Dean lied again. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine." Roman stood up and grabbed Dean by the arm. Dean tried to pull away, but Roman just tightened his grip. "Come on. Spill it."

Dean scowled, but when Roman just kept giving him a look, he finally sighed in defeat. "Hunter called. Said he got a call about Mom overdosing."

Roman's eyes widened. "What?"

"Overdosing. You know, that thing junkies sometimes do." Dean did manage to pull away this time, going back to making sure he had everything in his bag.

Roman watched him silently, trying to pick his next words carefully because he knew how sensitive of a subject this was. "Is she still alive? Or did she...you know..."

Dean shrugged. For as irritated as he had been acting, he was eerily calm now. "Don't know honestly. Hunter didn't specify and I didn't ask." Dean closed his bag and picked it up, seemingly intending to leave the room until he caught Roman looking at him agian. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Oh fucking hell Ro, what is it?"

"It's just...like...you didn't even ask if she was alive or dead?" Roman knew he shouldn't say anything, but it was too late now. The words were coming out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I mean, I know you don't really have a relationship with her, but -"

"But what? I should go fly home and rush to her side, when she wouldn't do the same for me?" Dean snorted and shook his head. "Look, you don't get it because your mom's great and whatever. But Mom never gave a shit about me unless it was to try to get something from me. And if she ain't dead then that's just exactly what she's gonna do if I go there."

"And if she is dead?"

Dean's eyes narrowed. Roman stood his ground, even as he cringed on the inside. "Do you really got to do this to me?"

"Do what?"

"This fucking like...guilt trip shit."

"I'm not -"

"Look, I'm sorry that I don't give a fuck about someone who never gave a damn about me. Me being her kid didn't matter to her, so why should her being my mom matter to me? It's fucking bullshit."

"Dean..."

"Just forget it alright?" Dean just shrugged his shoulders. "It's whatever."

"It's bothering you," Roman objected.

"It's bothering me because I had to remember she fucking existed, alright?" Dean shook his head, waving off Roman's next attempt at speaking. "You don't get it. You won't ever get it. And that's good and all, but that also means you don't get to lecture me about what the fuck I should be doing right now."

"I wasn't..." Roman sighed at the look he got. He had to stop. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "Alright. I'll shut up." He grabbed his own stuff, which was already packed. "We'll just go. Forget I even asked."

Dean grunted, turning on his heels and walking out of the room. Roman sighed as he followed him. That was definitely not the note he wanted to end his stay on.

* * *

After Roman pulled his no show act, Bray made a point of convincing the agents to switch him for the show in Portland the next night. He knew Dean would be there, and he wanted...no, needed to see him. He had a feeling Roman went to Vegas after his little visit, and that thought didn't set well with him. He didn't share the information with anyone though. Nobody asked him and he didn't care enough about their little show to offer it up. Instead he filed it away, going through the motions of a match against Cesaro and then getting himself switched out of the Seattle show. He said if Reigns didn't show up again then he needed a more suitable opponent. He wanted to challenge Roman's dearest friend, which was of course Dean. He got what he wanted, mostly because they were too scared to tell him no. Fear was a very useful tool against the weak.

He waited in the shadows for Dean, not doing it outside because of all the fans waiting around. He hummed to himself the whole time, already thinking of all the nasty ways he wanted to hurt Reigns. Roman went there to prove some kind of point. In Bray's eyes, it was a spiteful move that wouldn't change the fact they were ultimately doomed. Roman was a selfish coward who was only going to hurt Dean before it was all said and done. Bray had tried to tell Dean that, but did he listen? No. He was too stubborn to accept the truth. That was just how he was. He would have to get hurt before he accepted that Bray was right.

Dean arrived a bit later than the others. He kept his head down, his sunglasses and hat covering most of his face. Even with those barriers up though, Bray knew something was wrong. He could feel it. Maybe there was trouble with Roman. Maybe it was something else entirely. There was only one way to find out. Bray followed Dean to his locker room, pushing his way in before he could get locked out.

"Really?" Dean didn't even look surprised. He rarely did by Bray just appearing now. "Fucking really?"

"What?" Bray tried to sound innocent. "Didn't you miss me?"

"The fuck did you say to Roman?" Dean wasn't in the mood to play games. He threw his stuff on the floor and turned so he was fully facing Bray. "Seriously. What the fuck did you even do?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"We didn't go into details."

Bray chuckled. "Why not? Don't tell me I rattled his cage."

"Bray, I swear to fucking god, I'm not in the mood."

He wasn't. That much was obvious. "I told him the truth. I told him what he makes of you. I told him the lengths I'm willing to go for you, while he just uses you." He saw something in Dean's face twitch. "Let me guess: he came running to you, swearing how much he loved you? He couldn't resist trying to reassure you, while really just reassuring himself?"

"...I literally do not have the fucking energy for this shit." Dean slipped his fingers underneath his glasses so he could rub his eyes. "Fuck man. Can't this just actually be about the Money in the Bank match? Can't you just leave me out of this?"

"No." Bray stepped forward, grabbing Dean's wrists and pulling his hands back down. "You are the prettiest prize in this whole entire world. And he treats you like -"

"You don't know how he treats me, alright?" Dean snapped. "You don't get my thing with him, just like he don't get us. Now can we drop it?"

"I get your little thing with him perfectly," Bray objected. "I'm not as willfully blind to the thing as you'd like me to be."

"Oh fucking hell." Dean tried to pull himself out of Bray's grasp. Bray held tight, not willing to let him go just yet. "Bray seriously. Let me go before I punch you in the face."

"You'll be doing that anyway soon enough."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Street fight?"

"Of course. What other match do we ever get to fight in?"

Dean's scowl turned into a smirk. "Good. I like beating your face in."

Bray laughed. That earned him an exasperated look from Dean, which just made him laugh harder.

"You're fucking weird," Dean declared. Despite his best efforts not to, his lips were twitching into an actual grin. "Seriously. Who laughs at this shit?"

Bray just laughed more before finally calming down and letting go of Dean's wrists. He let Dean step back and sit down on the bench while making no move himself. Even in knowing that he would get to smash stuff into Bray's face and say it was for Roman's honor, he still seemed a million miles away. "What's the matter little lamb?"

"You're a bag of dicks. I thought we established that."

Bray rolled his eyes. "Besides from that."

Dean faltered. There was something else. Something big. It was on the tip of Dean's tongue, but then he shook his head and gave Bray a pleading look. "I...I'll tell ya later. I don't want to fucking talk about it right now. Not before I gotta go out there."

Bray could have pushed the subject. He knew how to get exactly what he wanted out of Dean. But he didn't. Not this time. "Ride with me after the show?"

"What, I have a choice in the matter?" Dean unzipped his bag and pulled out his boots.

"You always have a choice."

"I could argue that."

"You could try, but I know the truth. You just don't like admitting that you choose me."

Dean just looked at him, his mouth opening and closing several times as he failed to come up with a response. Bray didn't let it bother him. He just stepped forward and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of Dean's head. "I'll see you out there darlin'." He kissed him one more time before leaving, not looking back to see the look on Dean's face as he went.


	9. Chapter 9

"Wyatt? This is the story you're going with? Wyatt attacked you?"

Roman narrowed his eyes at Kane's words. He was sitting in the office the Big Red Machine had made for himself for the night. "It's the truth," Roman insisted stubbornly. He was tired of having this conversation. He already had gone through it with his wife, father, uncles, Finaly, Dean Malenko, Noble, Mercury - anyone that could call or corner him had demanded to know where he had been. The others though at least had accepted his lie. Kane was another story. Kane was dragging his feet, sitting across from Roman with a scowl on his face. "What do you mean that's what I'm going with? That's what happened."

Kane looked far from convinced. "Roman, Bray's not the type to ever shut up about how he hurt someone. He didn't say a damn word about taking you out last night."

"Were you with him all night?"

"Nobody else heard him say it either!"

"Maybe he decided to keep his mouth shut for once then. It's what fucking happened though."

Kane glared at him. He still didn't believe him. Maybe he was playing lackey to the Authority, but he wasn't anywhere near as dumb as Noble and Mercury or as delusional as Seth was. He was smart. He knew a liar when he saw one. But he couldn't prove it. If he could, Roman was sure that he would have been slapped with a fine or suspension lately. "Well Wyatt ain't here tonight, so I'm sure you can make it to this show and actually get to Raw tomorrow," Kane finally said.

Roman frowned. "Where the fuck is he?"

"Portland."

Roman scowled. Of course. That fucking figured.

"You're facing Rusev in a street fight." Kane kept going, choosing to ignore the look on Roman's face. "I wanted you to face Wyatt, but since he got himself switched to that show, I had to improvise."

"Fine." Roman wasn't going to argue. He could beat Rusev. The brute was too caught up in his weird love thing with Lana, Summer and Dolph to be the monster he used to be. "Can I go then?"

Kane waved him off without another word. Roman got up and left the room, letting out a long sigh as he did so. He would probably have to deal with Hunter and Stephanie tomorrow on Raw, but that would be something he would worry about then. For now he just wanted to get through tonight.

When he got back to his locker room he found he had a missed call from Dean. He hadn't left a message, but that wasn't surprising. He found it too awkward to ever bother with it. Roman dialed his number, hoping he would catch him before he went out for his own match.

"Yo." Dean picked up just as the third ring started.

"Hey." Roman smiled at the sound of Dean's voice. "What's up?"

"Uh...I just uh...fuck." Dean sighed. "I just wanted to say sorry."

Roman raised his eyebrows. Dean was not one to ever really apologize, not even when he was dead ass wrong about something.

"I shouldn't have like, gotten all pissed off like I did." Dean kept going, rushing to fill the silence Roman left between them. "I just...Mom's a bad subject for me and I get stupid. I shouldn't have taken it out on you though."

"It's alright," Roman assured him. "Just forget about it."

"It's not alright," Dean insisted. "I acted like a jackass."

"Well yeah, but that's nothing new. I forgive you." Roman sat down on the bench. "Did Hunter call you back to tell you more?"

"No. Didn't call him either. I'm guessing you want me to."

"I think you should at least find out if she's alive or not. But that's just me. I'm not going to make you do something you're not comofrtable with." Roman rubbed his hand over his jean covered thigh. "If she's not and you decide you want to like, do a funeral or whatever, I'll go with you."

"I don't need you to hold my hand Ro."

"Bullshit. You get so messed up about her. You shouldn't have to deal with it alone."

Dean let out a string of curses under his breath. "I just...I don't want to think about it right now. Let's focus on better shit."

Roman nodded along, forgetting that Dean couldn't see it. "Such as?"

"Uh...well I'm babysitting Brie's dog while she's out wrestling. That's pretty cool."

Roman grinned. Dean had such a soft spot for dogs. He used to try to pretend he didn't, but at this point he knew he wasn't fooling Roman, so he didn't try anymore. "You do plan to give her back, right?"

"Uh...do I really gotta?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "Dude, Brie might actually skin you alive if you try to steal her dog. I wouldn't recommend it."

Dean made the noise that usually was accompanied by his pouting. "You wouldn't protect me Romeo?"

"Not in this case. I like my skin attached to my body, thank you very much."

"Well fuck you then. Fucking useless jackass." There was no heat in Dean's voice, which told Roman he didn't mean it.

"Why don't you just get your own dog?" Roman had already had this conversation with him before, but here they were going again. "Get one small enough and you can take it with you on the road. That way you don't got to think about stealing Josie and getting our asses killed."

"I could, but it's more fun to steal shit."

Roman rolled his eyes. "You're awful."

"I know." Dean sounded all too proud of the fact.

"Oh christ..." Roman decided to just change the subject. "Who are you fighting tonight?"

"Bray. Street fight. What about you?"

"Rusev. Same thing." Roman tried to ignore the knot in his stomach that came from hearing about Dean and Bray's match. He should have expected as much. Dean seemed to only ever fight Bray or Seth at these things.

"Hey man, at least it's not Big show."

Roman grinned. "Yeah. That's true." He liked kicking the giant's ass, but it did get a little old sometimes. "You the main event?"

"Nah. Orton and Cena are facing Rollins and Owens. I'm gonna be on here soon."

"I'll let you go then." Roman tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, though he was pretty sure he wasn't successful. It just wasn't fair. There was never enough time for him and Dean. That's what it always felt like. He knew that was on him. He wanted to promise to change that. He wanted to say it all so bad, but he didn't. He couldn't yet. He still had to figure out a way to do this that wouldn't leave Dean labeled a bad guy He wanted a way out that didn't leave him completely robbed of what time he could get with his daughter. "I love you."

Dean didn't say it back. He made a weird choked off noise before mumbling something and hanging up. Roman didn't take it personally. He knew Dean had almost said the words back before. And each time he did, the fear would creep in his eyes and he would stop himself. Those words were just too much. Roman was okay with that. He wouldn't push Dean on it.

"Roman!" Jimmy's voice was followed by a knock. "You in here?"

Roman got up and quickly tucked his phone back into his bag. "Yeah," he responded. "Come in."

Jimmy entered the room, a frown on his face. "You alright uce? I heard Kane's gonna have you out there in a street fight tonight."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Roman assured him. Jimmy had been one of the people he had lied to already, so that was already taken care of. He did feel bad though. He had an incredibly tight bond with both Jimmy and Jey. He didn't like lying to either one of them.

"You sure?" The frown stayed firmly planted on Jimmy's face. "You look...sad?"

Roman looked away. "M'not. I'm fine."

Jimmy still wasn't buying it. "You sure? You can talk to me you know. I'll keep my mouth if I need to."

Roman looked down at the floor. Maybe he could say something. Not let out the full truth, but start planting seeds that he could use down the road. "I just...you ever get yourself into something because you feel like you have to? And you think it's what you should want, so you do it and you hope you end up happy? But then you like, don't get happy and there's no way out that doesn't make everyone completely miserable?"

"...I feel like I know where this is going, but you need to spell it out for me in case I'm wrong."

"I'm not happy. With the marriage thing."

It was exactly what Jimmy expected to hear, but he didn't look happy to do so. "Ro! It ain't even been a year! And you've been like, with her for forever."

"I fucking know that Jimmy. But it's just..." Roman sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I just thought it was nerves. I told myself that was what it was. I was only second guessing because everyone does it." He dropped his hands back down and groaned. "I just...I don't know what to do."

"Are you two fighting?" Jimmy asked.

"No," Roman admitted.

"Does she even know how you feel?"

"No..."

"Then talk to her man!" Jimmy threw his hands up in the air, exasperated that he even had to say that. "Get some counseling or some shit."

"I don't think that's going to help."

"Wh - oh god."

Roman swallowed nervously. He did not like the look on Jimmy's face. "What?"

"There's someone else isn't there?"

"What?"

"You're in love with someone else." Jimmy lowered his voice, at least having the decency to not say his accusation too loudly.

"No." There he was, lying again. This was too much of a habit now.

"Come on. Don't say there's not. There's gotta be. You're in love with someone else."

"How can you even say that to me?" Roman could have smacked himself. Going on the defense was never good. Not with someone who knew him so well.

"Because you're talking about just giving up your marriage without even a fight!" Jimmy did raise his voice now. Roman tried to shush him, but it was to no avail. "You wouldn't be doing that if you didn't have your fucking eyes on someone else."

Fuck. Roman smacked his own head. He should have kept his mouth shut. He had been so stupid.

"Have you been cheating? Did you - oh my god." The look that flashed over Roman's face gave him away. "Dude!" Jimmy closed the distance between them and smacked him. "What the hell are you doing man? Have you lost your damn mind?"

"Jimmy -"

"Who is it?"

"Are you going to tell?"

"The fuck kind of question is that?"

"Don't tell anyone. Please. I just...I don't want this out."

"Because you can't stand looking like as big of an asshole as you are?"

Roman groaned. He deserved that one. He wasn't going to argue that point. "It's Dean." He had to just admit it. He had to get it out there and find a way to get Jimmy to keep his mouth shut after. "I'm in love with Dean. I've been sleeping with him for over a year."

"Roman!" Jimmy looked ready to hit him again. "The hell did you get married for even then? Why didn't you just break it off before you fucking complicated shit?"

"I...I got a kid Jimmy. You know how that is. I didn't want to break things off because of her." Roman couldn't look at Jimmy as he spoke. Instead he looked at his hands, which he was wringing together anxiously. "I've always put her first. I still want to, but it's just...it's getting harder to be without him. I want to be with him when I go home. I want to be out in public with him when we're on the road and not have to just act like bros and shit when we're not in our room or hidden somewhere around here. I fucking love him. And I'm putting him in a fucking awful position because he might even get more blame than I will if this gets out. People are going to look at him and label him the homewrecker and it's just...I don't want that. He don't deserve that." He looked up at Jimmy, giving him a pleading look. "If you want to label me a cheater, then do it. But just leave him out of this."

Jimmy kept staring at him, silent for a long time. Roman bit down on his lower lip, his heart hammering inside his chest. He didn't know what Jimmy was going to do or say. He didn't even feel confident enough to venture a guess. "I don't even know what the fuck to say," was what finally came out of his mouth. "What the fuck man? The fuck is wrong with you?"

"Jimmy..."

"Isn't Dean still with Wyatt? Isn't that still a thing?"

"You know about that?"

"Know about it? Ro, it ain't a secret like you got going! EVERYONE knows it! Nobody fucking says anything about it because Wyatt's fucking extra whacked when it comes to Dean." Jimmy sat down next to Roman. "You ever actually seen the way he acts around him? He consideres Dean HIS."

"Well he's not," Roman snapped. "He don't own Dean."

"No, but I ain't gonna tell him that." Jimmy shook his head. "Does Wyatt know?"

"Yeah. Why do you think he started fucking with me?"

"Did he just find out?"

"No. But I think he's just snapped now."

"Well you're just fucked then." Jimmy slapped both hands against his legs. "Seriously. This is fucked up. I thought I've seen some fucked up shit before, but this is really fucked up."

"I know."

"And how are you gonna be in love with him if he's fucking someone else?"

"I didn't enter this thing single Jimmy. I couldn't get on him a whole lot for the Wyatt thing."

"I guess, but still..." Jimmy shook his head. "Alright. Let's say you break off your marriage. And then you ask him to break things off with Bray. What if he doesn't want to?"

"He will," Roman immediately answered.

"How do you know?" Jimmy shot back. "They've got a thing going uce. A freaky thing, given how Bray acts when he even thinks someone is looking at Dean the wrong way, but still a thing."

"The fuck do you even mean?"

"Oh shit, you weren't there for what I saw." Jimmy clapped a hand on to Roman's shoulder. "So a few months back we were at a different house show than you. We went out for drinks. Wyatt wasn't with us obviously. It was me, Dean, Jey, Naomi, Emma, Neville and Fandango. We get a little drunk. Some guys come over, getting up in our business. One's interested in Emma and the other is into Dean. Dean brushes him off, starts going away. Guy starts trying to grab at him and yelling at him, calling him names and shit. I think this stupid drunk bastard is gonna get hit in the face. But before Dean can even touch him, Wyatt's fucking there. He fucking followed us and had been like, watching the whole time. He grabbed the guy by the hair and grabbed my shot glass out of my hand and smashed it into the guy's mouth. Knocked out his front teeth, nearly cut his lips off his face...I mean, there was like blood everywhere. And Dean not only left with him, but he looked pretty well fucked the next morning."

Roman made a face. That was not a mental image he needed.

"I'm just saying that there's a thing. And even if Dean dropkicks Wyatt for you, that don't mean Wyatt's just going to go away. Dean is his in his mind. And he won't give him up without a war."

"Good thing we're already in one then." Roman stood up and paced around a bit, needing the movement to help collect his thoughts. "I'll worry about Wyatt. I just need to know if you're going to tell anyone about...well, you know."

Jimmy groaned. "I should. I should fucking bust your damn ass because that's the right thing to do."

"But are you going to?"

"...I'm going to regret this, but no." Jimmy shook his head as Roman's face lit up. "I'll let you sort this shit out yourself because I don't want involved in the drama. But I'm not going to lie for you either. If I get asked that I think something's going on with you, I'm going to say yes. If I get asked if I think you're cheating, I ain't defending your stupid ass. You're on damn own if this does blow up in your face."

Roman let his shoulders sag as he sighed in relief. That was the best answer he could have gotten. He didn't deserve more help than that. "Thank you."

"Don't be thanking me. I don't feel good about this." Jimmy stood up and heaved out a long sigh. "If Naomi finds out that I know about this then I'm fucking dead. And if I die then I'm coming back as a ghost and taking you with me."

Roman nodded. "Okay. I can handle that."

"Don't matter if you can handle it. That's just going to be how it is." Jimmy looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't. Instead he just shook his head, muttered something under his breath and then left. Roman watched him go, a strange feeling rumbling inside of him. He trusted Jimmy to not rat him out. Not unless he was directly asked. But if Jimmy had figured things out so quickly, then there was a good chance the rest of his family would too. The mess he wanted to avoid was not only firmly still looming, but it looked even more unavoidable than before.

"Fuck," Roman groaned. He grabbed his bag to get his gear out, needing to get changed so he was ready to go later on. "Fuck fuck fuck!"


	10. Chapter 10

"Dean, we need you to hold still."

"I am holding still."

The trainer sighed in exasperation. "You're wiggling."

Dean growled, muttering that he wasn't wiggling under his breath. He was sitting back in the trainer's room, getting the back of his head stitched up. Bray had given him the wound, though Dean couldn't even pinpoint where in the match it had happened. Things had gotten pretty out of control out there, much like it always did with them. Bray at least hadn't come away unscathed. Dean had gotten his back pretty good with a kendo stick, hitting him until he managed to break the damn thing. There was surely going to be all kinds welts decorating his back for at least the next couple of nights. That was at least something.

The trainer managed to get him stitched up and determined that he showed no signs of having a concussion. That was something he was more than happy to hear. Getting taken out of the game with that shit was the last thing he wanted.

After the trainer let him go, he went back to the locker room to get his stuff. Bray hadn't been waiting for him, though he would probably be popping up soon enough. It was probably just taking him longer to change because of the damage to his back. Dean considered trying to get out of the building before before he showed back up. Bray was the one who said he had a choice about riding with him. He could put that theory to the test. But even as he thought about it, he knew he wasn't going to do it. Despite the fact that he really never admitted it, he liked riding with Bray when he wasn't being an insufferable jackass. Bray would always drive and either sing or talk until his voice lulled Dean to sleep. Hell, he probably kept talking even after Dean fell asleep. He certainly had a hell of a time ever shutting the fuck up.

Dean changed into a t-shirt and different pair of jeans. He didn't bother with a shower. He would just do a quick one in the morning. He gathered up his stuff and left the room, deciding to wander over to the nearest vending machines. Bray wasn't one who usually made pit stops, so he had to get his snacks and drink now. He stopped in front of the drink machine and dug around in his bag for his wallet, which had seemingly gone missing again. "What the fuck," he muttered under his breath. "Fucking god damn it. Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Lose something Ambrose?"

Dean scowled. That stupid nasal voice could only belong to one person. He turned around and glared at Seth. who was dressed for his match. "Did you fucking steal my wallet asshole?"

"Me?" Seth rolled his eyes. "I'm not the petty criminal around here. Though given how much you've stolen my stuff, I should give you a taste of your own medicine."

"Try it. See what happens." Dean dug deeper into his bag, finally finding the damn thing. "Fuck yeah mother fucker." He pulled it out and waved it triumphantly at Seth's face. "Suck on this bitch."

"Your maturity level never ceases to amaze me." Seth looked up and down the hallway. "Where's your swamp monster? He's never not up your ass." He let out a fake gasp as he put the hand not holding the world title up on his shoulder over his chest. "Oh no. Don't tell me you managed to scare him off too."

Dean thought about hitting him in the face right then and there, but he didn't. He didn't want to show Seth how much those words bothered him. "Why don't you go ask him if he's sick of me? Go see how well that shit goes over."

Seth twitched. Goading Dean on the subject was one thing. Messing with Bray wasn't something he dared to do. Not when it came to the subject of Dean anyway.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Dean kept a wary eye on Seth as he bought a bag of Fritos from the machine. "What the fuck do you even care anyway?" He got out another dollar and moved to the next machine to get a soda. "Doesn't your daddy keep you busy enough anymore? Or did he get bored with having your mouth on his dick?"

Seth scowled. "Those daddy jokes are old Ambrose."

"Not as old as his balls though."

The scowl on Seth's face didn't last anywhere near as long as it should have. Dean should have known he was in for something bad right then and there. "I'm not the one fucking married men Ambrose."

The words sunk right into Dean's brain, making his heart nearly stop on the spot. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on. Cut the shit Ambrose. You don't think I haven't known this whole time?" Seth let out a sharp laugh. They were alone for now, but that could change in a heartbeat. Dean needed to shut Seth up, but he was too horrified by Seth's words to make a move. "I knew before I even dumped you guys."

Shit. Shit shit shit shit fucking shit. "You knew this whole time and you didn't say a word?"

"Why would I?" Seth smirked and pointed at Dean. "Why completely destroy Roman's family when you can just do it for me?" The smirk got bigger at the look on Dean's face. "I'm surprised with Roman though. I mean, he's always going on about family and loyalty and all that. And really, I just thought he had better taste."

"Fuck you." Dean clenched his fists at his sides. His whole body was actually starting to shake. He wanted to kill Seth. He wanted to wrap his hands around Seth's neck and just completely strangle him. But he didn't feel like he could make the move. Seth knew the truth. Seth could take that knowledge and get power over him at any time he wanted. Just because he hadn't done it yet didn't mean he wouldn't. It was probably just a matter of time.

"Oh what's the matter? Can't stomach the truth?"

"Leave me the fuck alone."

"Are you going to make me?"

"I will."

The sound of Bray's voice made both of them jump. Neither one had noticed him coming. He was standing just a couple feet away, eyes zeroed in on Seth. The hate Dean felt for the weasel was mirrored perfectly on Bray's face. It made Seth step back, the smugness wiped away in an instant. "Hey man, there's no problem here." His attempt to play nice was pathetic. He wasn't fooling anyone with it. "We were just talking."

"That's more than a problem in itself Mr. Rollins." Bray's voice was soft, his eyes gleaming with bad intentions. He hated Seth about as much as he hated Roman. "We've all heard the things that have come out of your mouth. They're about as vile as what you put in it these days."

The kind of response Dean got for the same implication did not go said this time. Instead Seth kept backing away, getting himself down the hall and around the corner as fast as he could. Dean watched him go, hands staying clutched into fists until he felt Bray's hand on his shoulder and mouth up against his ear.

"Come on darlin." Bray's tone was barely above a whisper. "Come with me now. Don't give him another thought. Just come with me."

There was no way Dean could do that first part, but the second part he could manage. He made his feet move, following Bray the opposite way that Seth went so they could get out of there. His hands were still clutched into fists, his chips crushed and drink long forgotten about. Bray wrapped a hand around his wrist to lead him along. He didn't try to pull out of it like he usually did. He was too busy trying not to throw up to even bother.

* * *

The car ride was silent for a long time. Bray drove while Dean sat slouched in the passenger's seat, teeth incessantly chewing on his lower lip. He hadn't spoken about what had happened with Rollins yet. Bray wanted to ask. All he had gotten was the very end, with Dean trying to get Seth to back off and Seth mocking him for it. That in itself had been enough for Bray to step in. All Seth ever did was hurt and consume Dean. The weasel twisted his little lamb up and left him in pieces every single time. Bray wasn't going to let it happen again. It was bad enough sharing Dean with Roman. He wasn't going to allow Seth to slip back into the mix.

"Mom overdosed." The words were not what Bray expected. It wasn't about Seth, but this was certainly the other thing that had been bothering him earlier. "Hunter called me and told me."

"She die?"

Dean shrugged. "Didn't let him tell me. I'll have to ask."

"Why?" Bray looked at Dean, who was frowning now. "Why bother to ask? She never gave a damn about you. Just leave her to rot."

"I just...she's still my mom..."

Bray scowled. Those words weren't from Dean. Those were Roman's words. "She was never a mother to you. She popped you out and left you at the mercy of the wolves. You owe her nothing."

Whether Dean admitted to it or not, there was a look of relief that flashed over his face at Bray's words. He quickly shook it off, acting as if he didn't think Bray saw it. "I just...I don't know what the fuck to do. I should at least know if she's still kicking or not, but what if she is and she starts trying to like, push her way back into my fucking life or something? Or what if she's not and then I'm gonna be like, expected to grieve and do a stupid funeral and act like I'm sad? I can't fucking be sad over this shit. Not after everything." He rubbed his hand over his collarbone, his foot tapping as his jitters increased. "I just...I hate her. I hate for fucking not giving a shit about me. I hate her for what she let happen to me. I hate her for fucking popping back in like this and reminding me she fucking exists." He let out a soft, bitter laugh. "It doesn't feel like anything's changed when she pops back up. It still feels like I'm just the fucking piece of gutter trash that shouldn't have ever been fucking born."

Bray tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He remembered those kinds of feelings. His abusive drunk of a father used to inspire them in him. But he had escaped them. They had gone away the day his father had died in the fire. Dean's still lingered on, plaguing him no matter how far away he got from his roots. "You're a lot of things little lamb, but gutter trash isn't one of them."

Dean's lips twitched. "Don't think so?"

"Never have."

Dean made a bit of a snorting sound, giving away his disbelief. It was typical of him. He never knew what to do with those kinds of words. But right now it bothered Bray. It felt like Dean believed he was a liar. It wasn't a lie. He didn't look to ever really lie to Dean. He wanted the other man to understand that. He thought about stopping the car and focusing on making him. But they didn't have the kind of time necessary for that. Instead he settled on reaching over and grabbing Dean's hand, gripping it tight so he couldn't pull it away. Dean looked down at it, his lips twitching again. "Don't you think it ruins your swamp monster serial killer vibe by liking to hold hands?"

Bray smirked. "I'm not all that worried about my vibe darlin. It's not like I expect you to go spill my secrets."

"Oh yeah? Why not?"

"Because then you'd have to tell everyone you let me do it."

Dean scowled. "Do not." He tried to pull his hand back to prove it, but Bray didn't let him go. "Oh come on!"

Bray just laughed, keeping his grip locked on Dean's hand while continuing to drive. Dean grumbled something Bray couldn't understand, but didn't make another attempt to get his hand free. Bray felt like his point was proven with that.

* * *

Dean knew he needed to try to sleep once he and Bray got to the hotel. It was late, and they had to get to Raw first thing in the morning. But sleep wasn't about to come. He just laid there in bed with Bray, staring blankly at the TV screen. Seth's words from earlier were fucking with his head. The bastard knowing scared the shit out of him. He hated admitting it even to himself, but it was true. He was completely scared shitless because Seth was just so very good at burning his world down around him. He had done it before without a second thought. He could do it again and laugh the whole time. And Dean didn't have a clue as to how he could stop him.

He did need to tell Roman. That he knew for sure. He had his phone in his hand now, wanting to shoot him a text about it. But every time he started to type it out, he took a glance at the clock. Roman was surely sleeping by now. Waking him up with this and keeping him up for the rest of the night wasn't something Dean wanted to do. So he kept backing out, putting the phone down and trying to watch the TV instead. But even when he did that, the fact that Roman didn't know would start eating away at him again. It felt wrong to even wait until morning to say it. He should have texted him earlier about it. He shouldn't have spent the car ride ignoring the fact that the confrontation had even happened. He shouldn't have stupidly gotten stuck inside his own head like he always fucking did.

"What is it?" Bray finally had enough of waiting for him to say it. He shut off the TV and sat up, silencing Dean's attempt to lie with just a look. "Don't treat me like I'm dumb darlin. "What did Rollins do?"

Dean groaned, grabbing his phone to fiddle with it again. He needed something to do with his hands. "He knows," he said quietly.

"About what?" Bray could have probably guessed it, but he still was going to make him say it.

"Me and Roman. Fucking asshole knows." He swallowed hard, hated how his stomach was churning again. "He's known all along."

Bray raised an eyebrow. "Is he threatening to tell?"

"Well no..." Dean sat up and looked down at his hands. "He thinks it'll be funnier to watch me fuck it all up." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "But like, he could fucking tell. He could fucking just...he fucking destroyed everything before. He fucking ripped me up and spit me back up and I still fucking can't make it right." He put the phone aside and rubbed his hands over his face. Seth had done the same thing to Roman. Could do it all again to him too. But he wasn't going to say that right now. It wasn't like Bray would care what Seth did to Roman. "I can't fucking let him win." He dropped his hands to his sides and sighed. "But I just...I'm not any good at actually beating him. Not when it actually fucking matters."

Silence hung between them for a long time after he said that. Dean had nothing else to say, and Bray for once offered nothing. Dean wrung his hands together, chewing on his lower lip until the quiet was too much for him. He looked to Bray, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Unreadable wasn't good. Not with Bray. Unreadable on him was typically followed by something bad happening. But Dean didn't get to try to figure out just what it was going to be this time. Bray pressed their lips together, tongue easily sliding into Dean's mouth as he made a surprised noise. The surprise lingered for a moment before it slipped away and Dean kissed him back. This wasn't a solution, but it was a much needed distraction. He was tired and freaked out and he fucking needed to get his mind off of this. He needed to get a clear head so he could help Roman find a way to deal with this problem.

"I'll take care of it little lamb," Bray mumbled between kisses. "Don't worry about him."

Dean didn't ask Bray to elaborate. He pretended to just not hear the words, deciding that he didn't want to know what Bray meant by it. An unreadable Bray vowing to do something was never ultimately good, and he didn't want to fucking now. Of course he would surely find out sooner rather than later anyway, but for now, he would enjoy the ignorance while it lasted.


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Roman got the arena for Raw, Dean was right at the door waiting for him. He was pacing back and forth, his face pale except for the dark bags underneath his eyes. He hadn't slept again. Dean's struggles with insomnia were nothing new, but last night had clearly been worse than usual. "Are you alright?" Roman skipped saying hello in favor of getting down to business. "What happened?"

Dean cast a look around to see if anyone was nearby. "We gotta talk."

"So talk."

"Not here." Even with nobody around them, Dean wasn't willing to say it. He motioned for Roman to follow him. Roman did so, letting Dean lead him into the locker room they were camping out in for the night. It was tucked away near the boiler room, which was a little too close to where Bray hung out for Roman's taste. He didn't say anything about the matter though. Judging fro the look on Dean's face, now was not the time to start that fight. "What is it?"

"Seth knows."

Roman frowned. "He knows what?"

"About us." Dean started pacing back and forth, his hand rubbing against his collarbone and chest as he went. "He knows we're together."

Roman's eyes widened. Of all the things he expected to hear, that was not one of them. "What?" He shook his head incredulously, his stomach twisting as Dean didn't admit to making a terrible joke. "No. No way."

"Yeah. Yes way." Dean kept pacing, getting significantly more antsy now that he had dropped the news. "We got into it a bit last night. I said shit about him sucking Hunter's dick. He fucking tells me I have no room to talk because I'm fucking a married guy." Dean let out a short laugh. "He fucking knew this whole time. Fucking bastard."

Roman stepped back until he hit the wall. He needed it to help keep himself upright. "What's kept him from saying anything then?" Sure he was happy that Seth hadn't, but the question as to why he had kept it quiet had to be asked. It wasn't like the little asshole had done it out of a sense of loyalty.

"He thinks it's funnier to watch me screw shit up," Dean answered bitterly. He stopped pacing, but his hand kept moving across his collarbone. "I hate him."

"I know you do. I do too." Roman pushed himself away from the wall and tried to grab Dean's wrist. He needed to stop the rubbing before it turned into clawing. Dean didn't have much in the way of nails, but persistence always led to him breaking his own skin. "Dean -"

"The instant he gets bored waiting for me to fuck up he'll tell everyone." Dean wasn't looking to calm down. Her jerked himself away from Roman's reach, shaking his head as he did so. He was tightly wound and he was planning on staying that way. "You just fucking wait. He's fucking taken everything from me. He'll do it again just for fun."

Roman wanted to tell him that wouldn't happen, but he couldn't. Not with Seth. Seth knew how much he had hurt Dean by betraying them, and he was only too happy to bury the knife even deeper. "I'll deal with him," Roman finally said. "You just stay away from him."

Dean gave him a look. "You can't be serious."

"You don't need to be anywhere near him when he's got you like this." Roman reached for Dean again and this time managed to grab a hold of him. "Just let me handle it."

"But -"

"No. I'm saying no. I've got it."

Dean groaned, but let the fight go out of him. "Fine. But you better have a good idea."

"I'll come up with one." Roman pulled Dean closer, pressing a long kiss against his lips. He waited for Dean to relax before he broke it. The issue of Seth knowing reminded him of his conversation with Jimmy. It didn't feel like a good time to bring it up, but he couldn't wait to do it. If Dean found out that Jimmy knew before he told him himself, that was just going to lead to trouble. "Jimmy knows too."

Dean froze. "What?"

"He um...he found out."

"How? How the fuck did he find out?"

"Well I uh...I tried to plant some seeds of uh, me being unhappy with my marriage and stuff. I wanted it to come off like I had just realized I had made a mistake with it and stuff. But um...he kind of guessed there was someone else because I wasn't acting like I wanted to fix the situation. And then he got pissed and it came out that it was you and he's not going to tell, but he knows and you gotta know that he knows."

Dean just stared at him, staying completely silent.

Roman shifted a bit, uncomfortable with the response he was getting. "Dean?"

"Planting seeds? That's what you were doing?" Dean eyed him warily. "The fuck does that mean Ro? Are you...are you gonna leave her?"

"That's uh...that's the eventual plan."

"Are you fucking serious right now?"

"Yeah." Roman nodded, not liking the look of disbelief on Dean's face. "I want to be with you."

Disbelief morphed into fear, but Dean would never admit it if Roman called him out on it. "What about the kid? You get outed as a cheater and any kind of custody you'd could have could be like, snatched away out of revenge."

Roman was well aware of that. That thought was not one he really wanted to entertain. "I want to try to end it without exposing the cheating thing."

Dean's expression went back to disbelief. "How the fuck do you think you're gonna do that?"

Roman shrugged. "Pick fights? Actually act unhappy at home? I don't fucking know. I just...I don't want you dragged through the mud. If I end up getting outed as the fucking shithead that I am, then that's my burden to bear. I just want to protect you from it." He swallowed hard before letting out a shaky sigh. "If I can keep it from ending too ugly I can probably get to see my girl when I'm off still. I just...I gotta just be careful with it."

"...Holy fucking shit Roman." Dean pulled himself out of Roman's grasp as he shook his head. "Just...holy fucking shit."

"I know."

"No. You don't know."

Roman frowned. "Dean -"

"You're choosing me. That's what you're saying now. But like, what if you regret it?" The fear was coming back. The deep rooted, insecurity fueled fear that Dean had always possessed.

"I won't."

"You don't know that."

"Don't tell me what I know." Roman grabbed Dean again, needing him to understand. "I love you. I'm in love with you." The words were rushing out of him now. He needed Dean to really understand. "I go back to her and all I can think about is when I get to see you again."

The words hung heavily between them. Dean didn't look like he knew what to say. Not that Roman expected him to. Dean could paint an entire tapestry with his words during a promo, but when it came to talking about feelings and mega huge personal shit like this, he was about useless. Roman let the silence linger between them longer before pulling Dean in for a kiss. He still hadn't brought up the subject of Bray. He knew he needed to. But for now he stayed silent, just enjoying the way Dean's arms slid around his neck as he deepened the kiss.

* * *

Bray hummed under his breath as he hung the pictures on the wall. Dean had taken off to go warn Roman about Seth. Bray had told him repeatedly that he would handle the situation, but Dean hadn't been very receptive. It was frustrating, but that was how Dean got when fear took the wheel. It probably didn't help that helping Dean on this involved helping Roman. Dean knew how he felt about the brute better than anyone. Of course Dean would find it hard to believe that he would ever help him. What he was doing now would only reinforce that disbelief. The pictures he was putting up were ones of Roman with his eyes and mouth cut out. He already had a little table with a little tea party set, which was how he knew he would get Roman backstage when he interrupted the match the brute had scheduled against Sheamus. If he was going to do something that would end up helping Roman, he needed to do some nasty shit to him first so he wouldn't feel too disgusted with himself. He had thought about just attacking him, but that didn't feel like enough. Men like Roman could bounce back from physical assaults. He had to keep up the mind games. So here he was, making a collage worthy of a serial killer. Maybe it was a little much, but he wasn't stopping now. He had put in too much effort to do that.

"Early one morning, just as the sun was rising, I heard a young maiden singing in the valley below." Bray started singing the song under his breath, blaming Dean as he did so. On one of the nights he had been in Vegas, Dean had been watching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and this song had come up several times in the process. "Oh don't deceive me. Oh never leave me. How could you use a poor maiden so?"

A knock on the door interrupted him. Bray frowned as he stopped. That wouldn't be Dean. Dean would have just barged in. Roman probably would have as well. That left him at a loss as to who it could be.

The person knocked again. Bray walked over to the door and slowly opened it. Finding Luke on the other side of it wasn't what he expected. Yet here the other man was. Bray froze, taking a long moment to look at his former follower. They hadn't had much contact since they had parted ways. But Bray had been watching him closely. He had watched as both he and Erick had tried to stand on their own and he had watched as they had both eventually failed. Luke had won a title, and Erick had made some new friends, but they had both fallen off the tracks. He had watched them band back together, only for the reunion to be cut short by Erick's injury. Bray still hadn't heard from him, but here was Luke. Bray knew what he wanted by just looking at him. He didn't have to actually ask, though he was going to anyway. He wanted to hear it from Luke's own mouth. "What are you doing here?"

Luke stared at him for a long moment, eyes not even blinking. "Can I come in?"

Bray stepped aside, letting him into the room. He shut the door behind them, watching as Luke walked over to the Roman collage. "You didn't answer my question."

The statement didn't get him anywhere. Luke was too busy running his fingertips over Roman's pictures, seemingly fascinated by Bray's work. "Anyone but him huh?" He turned to look back at Bray. "I always did want to see him broken."

"Just see it? Or did you want to help?" Bray placed his hands behind his back and clasped them together. "You've lost your way." If Luke wasn't going to say it, then he would. He didn't have the patience to drag it out him at the moment. "You captured a brief moment of glory before sinking back down where they think you belong." He watched a muscle in Luke's face twitch. He had hit a sore spot there. "And now you've come back to me because you don't know what else to do."

"Is that a problem?" Luke makes no point in denying it.

"Only if we reveal it too soon." Bray wasn't even gonna consider not taking Luke back. Even when he had let Luke and Erick go, it hadn't been because he hadn't wanted them anymore. He had just thought it had been for the best, for them and because he was looking to put all of his energy into pursuing Dean. "I don't want the brute to see this coming."

"What about Ambrose?"

"Don't worry about him."

"What if he takes Roman's side?"

Bray made a face, and that was as far as that conversation was going to go. "If you're coming back, I need you to do something for me."

"Name it."

"Dispose of Kane and the little goons Rollins runs around with."

Luke nodded, accepting the order. There was still a look of confusion on his face. A silent bid for Bray to give some sort of explanation.

"He thinks he can get away with tormenting Dean. I've grown sick of it." It wasn't a lie, but it still was vague enough to protect Dean's secrets. "Don't let yourself be seen. Make it brutal enough to where they can blame Lesnar after it happens." He knew the Beast was in the arena tonight. He and Dean had seen him arrive with Paul Heyman.

Luke nodded again. "Anything else?"

Bray considered the offer. The pictures he was leaving for Roman were good, but he could do even more. "You have a lighter?"

Another nod.

"Can I see it?"

Luke handed it over without objection. Bray held it in one hand while grabbing himself another picture. It was one he hadn't cut up yet. It was an old Shield one, with Roman standing in between Seth and Dean. Bray flicked on the lighter and held it to the corner of the pictre until it caught on fire. He held it away from him as it burned. He watched as Seth was snuffed out from the photo followed closely by Roman. Once there was just Dean, Bray smothered the fire with his own shirt, barely feeling the flame burn his skin. "Get this in the brute's bag if you can."

The order gets him an odd look, but the question as to why or what this meant didn't come. Luke was a good solider. He didn't ask too many questions. Instead he just went to go do the bidding, leaving Bray to pocket the lighter. Maybe he would find good use for it later.

* * *

Dean let out a string of curses as he flopped down on one of the chairs in catering. Losing to Kane wasn't something he enjoyed. Not when the fucker was a glorified Authority goon rather than the monster he had used to be. Losing the match because of Seth though? That was the last thing he had needed. Roman had tried to make him feel better, but there hadn't been much success. Now Roman was out wrestling Sheamus, and despite his absolutely foul mood, he hadn't felt like staying cooped up in the locker room. He had needed more space. So here he was now, in the corner of the catering room, his eyes turning to the monitor someone had mounted up on the wall. Nobody had paid him any mind yet. They were too busy watching Roman and Sheamus go at it. Like him, they all wanted Roman to win. Sheamus had been absolutely insufferable since he had come back, and him winning the money in the bank briefcase was only making it worse. But also like him, they were wondering how long it was going to be before Bray tried to do something funny. They all knew it was just a matter of time.

"Mind if I join you?"

Dean blinked, startled by the sound of Tamina's voice. She was already pulling a chair up next to him, giving him no real choice but to nod. "Where's Naomi?" The two of them were attached at the hip these days, so he felt like it was a fair question.

"With Jimmy over there. He wanted to sit with Titus and Darren."

Dean decided not to even dare to take a glance in that direction. Roman's words about Jimmy not being happy with either of them were still fresh in his mind. Jimmy wasn't the type to get mad easily, but when he was, he got really, really mad. Dean normally didn't let that phase him, but given the subject at hand, avoiding him seemed like the much smarter option.

He and Tamina watched the match in silence. She didn't try to force a conversation, which was something Dean was very grateful about. He wasn't in the mood to even attempt to carry on one. Instead he chewed on his nails and tapped him foot, anxiety raising as he waited for Bray to do something. Part of him wanted him to just stay away and let Roman be. The other part of him wished he would just come out already and get it over with. The waiting for it was fucking awful.

The interruption came from the titan tron of course. Bray wasn't ready for a fight yet. And Dean wasn't ready for Bray to be acting like he was having a tea party with Roman's daughter. He had hoped that Bray would choose to stop using her as a weapon. Clearly that had been asking for too much. He watched as the fear flashed in Roman's eyes. Even though Roman had to rationally know there was no way Bray actually had his daughter, it seemed like that was what he was immediately thinking.

"He shouldn't go back there," Tamina said as they watched Roman bail out of the ring and run backstage.

No. He really shouldn't. Dean pushed himself up to his feet and bailed out of the room. He ran down the halls, nearly colliding with several people along the way. He wanted to get there before Roman. He wanted to keep him from going in there. Whatever Bray had in there, it wasn't something Roman needed to see. But for as fast as he tried to move, his beat up body still slowed him down. By the time he got to the room Bray had holed himself up in before the show, Roman was already in there. He was staring at the wall in disbelief, which made Dean frown.

"Wh - oh holy fuck." Dean gulped as he took a look himself. Dozens of pictures of Roman were hanging on the wall, all of them with his mouth and eyes cut out. In the center of the pictures were the words 'Anyone but you' in red...something. Dean didn't know if it was marker or paint or something else entirely. Knowing Bray, he didn't want to know. "Ro?" He looked at Roman, who just kept staring at the pictures. "Ro come on." He grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him away. "Let's go. Let's get the fuck out of here."

Roman kept his eyes locked on the wall for a few moments longer before reluctantly letting Dean drag him out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Getting rid of Seth's little security was easier for Luke than Bray even expected it to be. He hadn't lacked confidence in him; he knew far better than to do that. But the speed of which it was done did manage to surprise him. He supposed it was because Luke felt like he had something to prove. Or maybe he had just gotten lucky. It wasn't something Bray looked to examine too much. Not now. Not with Seth's room key clutched tightly in his hand. Even with the goons out of the way, he still wasn't certain how much time he had. There was still the possibility of Hunter and Stephanie popping in and getting in his way. He hoped they wouldn't. He wasn't looking to hurt them too. He was fairly certain the things he would do to them would get him fired. He couldn't allow that to happen. That would take him away from Dean, which was the last thing he wanted. The time they spent apart now was too much as it was.

He turned the corner and walked down the empty hallway. Luke had said Jamie had been holding an ice bucket when he had attacked him. They always bunked with Seth, so Bray knew he'd be waiting for them to come back. He wouldn't put the chain on the door that would keep Bray from getting in. At least he didn't think anyway. Seth was the type mean enough to lock out his own flunkies if the mood struck him.

Bray stopped in front of the door. He waited just a moment, listening closely to see if he heard anyone else in there with the little weasel. All he heard though was the sound of the news playing on the TV. Perfect. He grabbed the door handle and put the key in the slot. The light flashed green, and he quickly opened it. He slipped right inside and shut the door behind him. Seth was laying stretched out on one of the two queen sized beds the room had. He didn't even immediately look up. He kept his eyes locked on the TV, only growing agitated when he didn't hear what he was apparently expecting to hear.

"It took you guys long enough." He grabbed the remote and turned the volume down. "What did you guys do? Did you -" His words stopped short as he finally looked up and saw who was actually there. "What the FUCK?" He scrambled off the bed, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

Bray smiled as he took a step forward. He let the key drop out of his hand and down to the floor. He didn't need it anymore. "Hello Mr. Rollins." His smile grew bigger as he saw the fear that Seth failed to hide. "I think it's time for you and I to have a little chat."

* * *

Dean felt guilty as he took the first drag of the cigarette. It had been awhile since he had actually had one. The few days following Seth's betrayal had briefly kick started his old habit. Roman had let it be for that little bit, giving him time before getting on him about needing to stop. He would be doing it right in that moment if he was actually there. But he wasn't. He had left to go confront Seth. Dean had thought he would wait until the Smackdown tapings tomorrow, but Bray's mind games had left him with the extreme urge to go hit something. Dean couldn't say he blamed him. He knew what that was like. Hell, that was his go to coping mechanism. Normally though, he would have at least insisted that he tag along. But this time he didn't. The weight of his and Roman's earlier conversation still hung on him. He needed the time apart to clear his head.

He leaned back against the building. He was standing in the alley behind the hotel to avoid any detection from fans. The stench from the nearby dumpster was gag worthy, but he ignored it as much as he could. He didn't know what to do with Roman's words. They scared him shitless, which was not something he enjoyed. Roman had sounded so sincere. Roman had seemed so sure of his choice, but Dean still wasn't sure if he could believe it. The way Roman still wanted to go about things sounded ripe for disaster. Roman's wife was bound to find them out. Dean didn't want it, but it was bound to happen. Roman was not a very good liar. His attempts at it had always been awful. How he thought he was going to pull some big, slow burn act off was beyond Dean. Hell, he had already failed when confronted by Jimmy. That wasn't really a good start to this whole thing.

One cigarette quickly became two. He was already thinking of smoking his way through the whole pack. Not the brightest idea in the world, but he really didn't care. Smoking at least gave him something he could do. He was at a loss for how to handle this whole situation. As much as he did love Roman, he never really expected the other man to start seriously talking about choosing him over his wife. The kid thing had made Dean pretty certain of that. And despite how it hurt, he had come to grips with it. He knew better than to expect anything else. But now the anything else was right in front of his face and he was going past scared straight into being terrified. There was too much that could really go wrong now. Roman could change his mind and back out of trying to slither out of his marriage. He could have his lies blow up in his face and lose everything because he had some wild notion that Dean was worth more than he really was.

And then there was the Bray factor. Dean didn't even know what to do about that. With Roman saying he was choosing him, it was only fair if he did the same thing. He couldn't let Roman give up everything if he wasn't going to do the same for him. But the thought of telling Bray it was over had somehow become a not completely appealing thought. Part of it was admittedly of being scared to lose Bray as his safety net. But the other part...well, that was the part that could admit to himself that Bray had somehow sunk in underneath his skin, twisting his claws in much deeper than he ever should have let them get.

And even if he made the choice to throw it all in with Roman, that didn't mean Bray would just passively accept it. Bray was already wielding an extra strong vendetta against Roman because of him. He didn't even want to imagine what Bray would do if Dean tried to full on leave him for Roman. Anyone who got on his bad side when it came to him came to regret it. The guy who had gotten a shot glass smashed into his mouth did. Seth would once Bray did whatever he wanted.

 _"I'll take care of it little lamb. Don't worry about him."_

Dean nearly choked on the smoke he had just inhaled. Seth. He had forgotten that he had not only told Bray what Seth had said, but had forgotten the fact that Bray had planned to take care of it himself. If he hadn't already gotten to Seth, he would soon enough. Roman would be there too, and god he did not want to imagine the ways that would go wrong. "Fuck!" He threw his cigarette down to the ground and started to run. Seth wasn't staying at the same one that he and Roman were at. He was at a nicer one a few miles away. Dean cursed the sellout asshole as he went. If Roman and Bray didn't kill him before each other, he was going to do what he should have done in the first place and strangle him himself.

* * *

It took all the smooth talking skills Roman had to charm the receptionist into giving him the key to Seth's room. She had been more than reluctant, knowing that if her actions were found out that she would get fired. He had persisted with his convincing, eventually getting what he needed. He had thanked her profusely before going to the room. He kept himself on the lookout, knowing that Noble, Mercury and Kane were probably going to be close by. He just hoped that they weren't actually in the room with Seth. Roman could fight them off if need be, but that wasn't what he wanted to do. He just wanted to take care of Seth and then get back to Dean.

He stopped in front of Seth's door, just about to put the key in the slot when a noise from inside the room made him freeze. He frowned and listened closely, unsure of what it was that he had even heard. A long few moments of silence passed. Roman was about to shake it off as him just hearing things when he heard it again. It was coming from Seth. He could recognize the voice now. It was Seth, and Roman was startled to realize that he sounded near tears.

"Please...no no no no!"

"What the fuck?" Roman quickly put the key into the slot and unlocked the door. He tried to ignore the instinctive concern that still reared its head towards Seth from time to time. He stepped into the room and let the door shut behind him. His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. Seth was pinned down on the bed by Bray, his hands and ankles bound by torn up sheets. A cloth had been placed over his face and Bray was pouring an entire pitcher of water over it. "What the FUCK?"

Bray looked up, his eyes narrowing angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"Me? What the fuck are YOU doing?" Ignoring the brotherly concern that he still had for Seth was out of the question. He let it move him across the room in just a few quick strides. He shoved Bray out of the way and ripped the cloth off of Seth's face. Seth gasped for breath, barely managing to turn over on his stomach before he started coughing and gagging. "What the fuck are you doing?" Roman kept his gaze zeroed in on Bray, his hands balling up into fists as he readied himself for a fight. "Have you gone completely insane? What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Bray rolled off the bed, keeping his distance for now. "Me? I'm teaching our dear Mr. Rollins a lesson."

"By trying to kill him?"

"Kill? No. Not at all. I just couldn't leave too many marks. We don't need his mommy and daddy getting suspicious now." He winked at Seth, who cowered away as he kept trying to catch his breath. "Isn't that right Seth?"

Seth put his hands up, weakly trying to wave a flag of surrender. "I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I'm sorry. No more...no more..."

Even after the hell Seth and the Authority had put him and Dean through, it was still profoundly disturbing to see him like this. Roman didn't really even want to think about how long Bray had been here and what else he had done. "You've had your fun. Now get out."

"Fun?" Bray's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think this is about fun?" He stepped closer to Roman, just stopping short of striking distance. "Fun has nothing to do with this. This -" he jabbed an angry finger in Seth's direction "- weasel has done nothing but try to destroy my little lamb at every turn. Unlike you, I wasn't going to stand by and just let it keep happening."

"Fuck you," Roman snarled. "I was here to take care of him myself."

"Oh, what, you were going to idly threaten him? Were you going to raise your big old fist and maybe, just maybe punch him a little?" Bray let out a short, brittle laugh. "I know you Roman. You don't have what it takes to really teach Seth a lesson. You look at him and still see the little brother you thought you knew. You don't see what he really is."

Roman scowled. "I know exactly what he is."

"You've never known," Bray insisted. "He's a soulless weasel. A cold hearted snake, whose venom kills everyone who gets too close to him. Little lamb can't save himself."

"But you can?" Roman almost felt like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yet really, why he was he even surprised? Jimmy had warned him about the fucked up shit Bray did in the name of Dean. "You think this is protecting Dean?" He shook his head. "You were practically fucking drowning him. That's not protecting Dean."

"Isn't it? Do you think Seth's going to be looking to get in Dean's business anymore?" Bray stepped closer, getting right in Roman's face now. "Do you think he'll be rushing to dangle your and Dean's little relationship over little lamb's head now?" He pointed his finger at Roman's chest. "I did what you didn't have the guts to do. I am the one who would actually do anything for Dean."

Roman clenched his hands into fists. The desire to knock Bray in the mouth was growing rapidly. "You have no idea what I'd do for him."

"Liar," Bray hissed. His eyes flashed in anger. "You're a coward. You do nothing for him that isn't convenient to you. You keep him dangling on a string for your own amusement. You take everything from him and when the world finds you you've used him as your whore, you -"

Roman didn't let him finish. He couldn't take anymore. He was tired of Bray's words digging into his brain and fucking him all up. He lunged right at the bastard, his momentum making them fall to the floor. Fists started flying, the two of them rolling around the floor as they struggled for dominance. Every hit Roman got in felt good, but it still wasn't enough. He wanted to pound his face until it was completely unrecognizable.

Bray managed to shove him off and scrambled to his feet. He grabbed Seth and yanked him off the bed. Seth cried out, unable to really fight as he was pulled into a bear hug. "We all know what I'd do for little lamb." They were back to this. Bray kept wanting to make this into some sort of fucked up contest and Roman hated him for it. "I've proven it. Why don't you?"

Roman stood up, eyes narrowing angrily. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Bray smirked. "Prove to me you're not a coward. Show me how far you'd really be willing to go."

The statement was absolutely infuriating. Prove it to Bray? Roman didn't have to prove anything to him. At least, that was what the logical part of his brain tried to tell himself. It wasn't a part of him that lasted very long. Anger got the best of him. Bray wanted to see what he would do? Bray wanted to play games? Fine. He could play too. With a snarl he grabbed Seth and yanked him out of Bray's grip. Seth struggled to get away, but Roman's grip was too strong. He dragged him over to the sliding glass doors that led to the little balcony area. Seth had chosen a room on the top floor, giving Roman exactly what he needed to work with. He hauled him up and over the railing, gripping him just by the ankles to keep him from plummeting down to the cement headfirst. "How about I just let him drop?" He locked eyes with Bray, growing even angrier when the other man looked ready to start laughing. "Would that make you happy?"

"Roman!" Seth's voice was strained and higher with his fright. "Roman no please! Please Roman please..."

"Shut up!" Roman snarled. He didn't take his eyes off Bray as he spoke to Seth. He needed Wyatt to see every ounce of hate he felt towards him. "The fuck do you have to say now? You think I still wouldn't do anything for Dean?"

"You do make a mighty convincing argument." Bray looked completely amused by this turn of events. Whether it was because he just liked seeing Seth suffer or he liked how he pulled an action so ugly out of Roman was unknown. Maybe it was both of these things. Roman figured both was a safe answer. "Might be more convinced if you let him go."

The words shouldn't have been as tempting as they were. Bray was in his head again. He got in there way too easily. Roman couldn't even try to push him out though. Instead he just glared at him, his grip on Seth still iron tight. "You didn't actually drown him. Why should I actually drop him instead?"

"Because you know I would have," Bray replied. He folded his arms over his chest, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I'm enough of a monster to do it. You on the other hand...well, you're just a boy trying to play one."

Roman growled and pulled Seth back up over the edge. He shoved him aside, his vision nearly going red from his rage. He grabbed Bray by the front of the shirt and yanked him over towards the railing now. "How about I throw your ass over this thing?" he growled. "Fucking solve all my problems right now."

"Do it," Bray dared. He didn't even try to fight Roman. He even leaned back a bit, just waiting for Roman to do it. "Right now."

"You think I won't?"

"You know the answer to that."

Roman snarled and started to bend Bray back first over the railing.

"ROMAN! ROMAN WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

Dean's yelling made Roman jump. He pulled Bray back and let him go. His gaze went down over the railing, catching sight of Dean, who had stopped to pant for breath. Even from up here, he could see tell the look on Dean's face was not a happy one. He stepped away from the railing and went back inside the room. He ignored Bray's laughing and Seth's haunted, traumatized look in favor of heading to the little mini bar that was in there. He needed a drink in the worst way.


	13. Chapter 13

Dean took a long drink from the vodka bottle he had grabbed for himself. He had made his way into the hotel and gotten up into Seth's hotel room. Well, it had been Seth's hotel room anyway. Seth himself had bailed the moment Dean had stepped through the door. Where he went Dean had no idea. He didn't really care. His focus were on the other two men in the room with him. Roman sat across from him on the other bed, while Bray had pulled up a chair to sit on. The silence that had fallen between them was uncomfortable, to say the least. Dean had to break it, but he wasn't even sure where to start. "You know you two are fucking hosed if Seth rats you out," he finally said. That much was painfully obvious, but it was a starting place.

"He won't tell anyone." The confidence in which Bray said that was chilling.

"How the fuck can you be sure?"

"Mother fucker was torturing Seth when I came in here." Roman decided to answer that one before Bray could. "You know that waterboarding shit? Yeah. That was what the fuck he was doing."

"Wait what?" Dean looked at Bray for confirmation.

Bray just shrugged. "It was better than his original plan. Do you think Rollins cares about getting his face punched a little? Everyone's done that to him. He needed to be taught a lesson."

"There's lesson teaching and just you being a sadistic fuck," Roman snapped.

Bray's eyes narrowed. "And you were so innocent? You were the one dangling him over the balcony."

"You -"

"Stop. Just fucking stop." Dean didn't want to hear an argument. He didn't have the patience for it, especially when it was just going to be some play to paint the other one as the bad guy. "Christ. I'm fucking exhausted enough as it is. I'm not gonna sit here and listen to this shit."

Roman grumbled something Dean couldn't hear before taking a drink of the whiskey he had stolen for himself. Bray shot him a rather venomous look before turning his attention back to Dean.

"Why are we even still sitting in here darlin? The weasel's taken care of. What more do we need to do?"

That was the big question. Dean didn't know how to really answer it. Part of him wanted to make them hash out everything right there in that moment. Shit like that wasn't normally his thing, but the mere idea of this little war continuing on sounded even worse. He didn't want to be the prize that they tore each other apart for. But for as much as he wanted to say it, he knew there was no use. Bray was set in his belief that it had to be done, and Roman wasn't the type to back down. Not when someone was blatantly challenging him.

"Dean?" Roman spoke now, a frown crossing his features. "You okay?"

"You two need to fucking stop." The words weren't going to ultimately do any good, but fuck it, he was going to say them anyway. He put the vodka down and pointed to Bray first, who had the audacity to look surprised. "Leave his fucking kid out of this. I fucking mean it. You're fucking creepy enough without having to bring a little kid into shit." He pointed to Roman next. "And you. Don't fucking be dangling people off fucking hotel balconies. You could have gotten seen by the wrong fucking people, and then your ass would be in jail for attempted murder and shit. You want that?"

"Aw, what's the matter darlin? Are you afraid he's too pretty for prison?" Bray moved off his chair and went to grab at some of Roman's hair.

"Fucking get away." Roman shoved Bray back towards his chair. "Fucking seriously." He put his whiskey aside before he stood up and looked to Dean. "Can we go? Please?"

"And who exactly said he was going with you?" There was Bray again, having to dig at Roman again.

Roman stiffened, easily falling right into the bait. "He's riding with me. We already decided."

"We? Or you?" Bray stood up again, his mouth twitching as he saw Roman getting angrier.

"We." The word was nearly a snarl. "You're the one who doesn't get a fucking say."

"And why is that? I mean, I'm the one actually devoted to him. I'm the one who would actually do anything for him."

"You don't know what I'd do for him."

Dean groaned. "Guys..."

"I'm leaving her." The words few right out of Roman's mouth. His fists were clenched at his side, and Dean saw a glint of satisfaction in his eyes as he realized he had caught Bray off guard. "I choose him. I fucking love him. So you know what? Quit fucking telling me what I would or wouldn't do for him."

Bray studied Roman closely before looking at Dean. Dean just nodded, giving the confirmation that Roman wasn't lying. Bray took another glance at Roman before his eyes returned to Dean, a small laugh escaping him. "Well don't you just feel special?" The sarcasm dripped from his voice, putting Dean right on edge. "He finally found you worthy of actually choosing!" He dropped the sarcasm and leaned in close, his eyes locked on Dean's. "But tell me little lamb: what do you choose?" He placed a hand over Dean's chest. "I've heard an awful lot about him and his choices. But what about you? Have you already made the same choice? Or do you have some bad news to break?"

Dean stiffened. He could have strangled Bray right then if his arms didn't suddenly feel like they were being weighed so heavily down. All the thinking he had done earlier hadn't led to any answers. He certainly couldn't come with anything while he was on the spot. He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. The weight of their stares was too much. They were both waiting on what he would say. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He knew what he felt for Roman. Roman was his brother in arms. Roman was the only thing that kept him remotely sane after Seth betrayed them. But Bray...was Bray. He was twisted and evil like Roman constantly pointed out, but there was the side of him that only Dean got to see. The one that protected him and gave him a reprieve from feeling like he always had to be strong. The one that was...sweet seemed like the wrong word, but it was the only word Dean could think of to describe it. He didn't know what to do. He really fucking didn't.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Bray's expression slowly grew more gleeful while Roman...well Dean couldn't really read the look on his face. "I can't do this," Dean finally said. His mouth was so dry that he could barely get the words out. He shook his head, not really keeping direct eye contact with either of them. "I'm not fucking doing this right now. I know what this fucking is." He licked his lips, his voice gaining more strength as he let himself grow angry. "You don't want to hear my choice. You both want me to say what you want to hear so you can fucking rub it in each other's faces." That was actually the truth. He could tell that much, even with just wanting to get out of this right now. "I'm not gonna be part of your fucking macho pissing contest. You can't fucking make me do it."

"Dean -" Roman started to speak but Dean just shook his head. He felt bad for it. He didn't like seeing the flash of hurt on the older man's face. But he couldn't apologize for it. Not when it was so hard to breathe now. He backed away from the both of them, shaking his head as he headed for the door. "I'm going. Don't fucking kill each other." He turned on his heels and bailed, moving fast in case one or both of them tried to go after him. He didn't want that. He needed to be alone for awhile. Even if he didn't end up clearing his head, he at least needed to get out and breathe.

* * *

The night had turned into a complete mess. That was the main thing Roman could think as he reluctantly returned to what was supposed to be his and Dean's hotel room. He had tried to find Dean after he took off, but Dean was too fast for him. Dean had lost him and hadn't wanted to be found. Roman had finally come back here, hoping Dean had maybe chosen to the do the same. There was no such luck. Dean's stuff was all still there, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck!" Roman swung his fist and hit the wall. He felt the pain in his knuckles, but he really didn't care about it. The pain was better than the rest of what he was feeling. The way Dean had just left had hurt. The way he hadn't answered Bray had hurt even worse. Maybe Dean hadn't answered because he felt like it was just going to feed the macho pissing contest. Roman wanted to believe that was just it. His and Bray's behavior had gotten out of hand. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that wasn't really it. He had seen the flash of fear in Dean's eye when Bray had posed the question of choosing. He hadn't known what to say. He hadn't made a choice.

Roman went over to the bed and sat down on it. He hadn't considered the fact that Dean would even have to make a choice. Despite the thing with Bray continuing on even after the ambulance match, Roman had figured Dean had just kept with it both out of habit and because Roman was still going home with his wife. He hadn't given much thought to the idea that Dean could actually have some sort of feelings towards Wyatt. He knew they were there between them. Even if Dean hadn't ever said it, Roman knew they were there. He had seen it in not only Dean's eyes, but how he was when they were alone. But Dean having anything deeper with Wyatt hadn't been something he considered. It was ludicrous thinking about it even now. Bray was an evil lunatic. He wasn't the sort of person anybody should be having feelings for. But they had to be there. If Dean didn't know what to do despite Roman making his own choice clear, they had to fucking be there.

Roman shifted around so he could pull his phone out of his pocket. Despite knowing it wasn't going to do much good, he tried calling Dean anyway. He at least wanted to know if he was okay. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail. Roman groaned before leaving his message, asking Dean to please call him back. He hung up the phone and put it aside. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to just stay there for the whole night. Maybe he possessed more patience than Dean, but that wasn't saying a whole lot. He was a man of action. His heart was telling him to just go and look for Dean until he had to make the drive to the next town. But with Dean's stuff still there, there was the possibility that he would come back for it. And if he did, Roman wanted to be here for it.

"Fuck!" Roman grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He didn't want to watch anything, but he had to distract himself somehow. Maybe Dean would come back tonight. It felt like a doubtful thing, but he had to hold out hope. It was about all he could do.

* * *

"You're getting crumbs all over the damn bed."

Dean stopped chewing on his mouthful of Doritos and winced. Usually he didn't give a shit about anything like that, but given that it was Tamina saying it to him, he was going to care now. "Sorry," he mumbled. He wiped his fingers off on his pants before brushing the crumbs off to the floor. "Better?"

"Quite chewing like a pig while you're at it." Tamina sat herself up and fluffed the pillows before laying back down.

"I don't chew like a pig."

"You do too."

"Do not."

"Dean, I'm way too tired to argue with you. Yes you fucking do." Since he was sitting the bed with her, she was able to swing her arm over and hit him on the chest. "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be in your own damn room sleeping?"

Dean just shrugged. He hadn't actually planned on coming here. Not originally. He had wandered around the city for awhile, trying to get as far away from the situation with Roman and Bray as he could. It had occurred to him that he couldn't keep wandering though. If Roman didn't track him down, Bray certainly would manage to do it. So he had gotten off the streets, coming to Tamina because he not only liked her, but he figured that Jimmy wouldn't want to see him. Roman had said he wasn't happy about finding out about their little thing, and he hadn't figured things had changed already. "I can't just want to see my family?"

Tamina just stared at him.

"My familia?"

She continued to stare.

"My ohana?"

Despite the roll of her eyes she did crack a bit of the smile at that one. "Ohana or not, I still have to be up in a few hours so I can make it to Smackdown on time. So what the hell is going on?"

Dean groaned. He really had hoped to not get many questions. "It's complicated. Too complicated for me to even get into."

"Give me the cliff notes version then."

"Guy trouble."

Tamina made a face.

"What the hell is that look?"

"Look, family or not, I'm not awake enough to process any aspect of your love life with Bray," she informed him.

Dean busied himself with stuffing more chips in his mouth, wanting to hide any real expression on his face. Part of him wanted to tell her that it was so much more than Bray. Part of him actually wanted someone to tell him what the fuck to do. But he couldn't. Too many people knew about him and Roman already.

"I don't even get what you see in him."

He blinked, needing a moment to process those words because he hadn't been listening. "Bray?"

"No. The other swamp monster you're fucking." Tamina shoved him on the arm. "Of course I meant Bray."

"He's...he's different when it's just us." Dean shrugged at the disbelieving look she gave him. "Okay, maybe he can still be a bag of dicks, but it's not like, always as bad."

Tamina still didn't look convinced, but she wasn't going to argue. "Is it weird? You know, with him and Roman being at each other's throats."

"Oh god..." Dean's voice trailed off. She had no idea how it felt. Even if he could tell her, he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to vocalize it properly.

"Look, I'm not gonna pretend to understand your shit with Bray, but Roman's your best friend. He cares a lot about you. Don't let this shit get between you guys."

"Right." Dean looked at the clock, feeling more than a little guilty now. "I um...I should probably go." He got up and made sure to brush off the bed again so there wouldn't be any crumbs at all. "Thanks for uh, letting me crash here for awhile." He didn't wait for her response. He went for the door, throwing away the rest of the Doritos before actually leaving. He went down the hall and took a right, electing to take the stairs up to the floor that his and Roman's room was on. He had no idea if he was even going to find Roman still there. For all he knew, Roman was possibly still out looking for him. Or maybe Roman hadn't even bothered. Maybe Roman had just already left for the next town. Dean wouldn't blame him if he had.

He slipped the key card into the slot and unlocked the door. He slipped in as quietly as he could. Roman was still there. He had sat himself up to watch TV, but had fallen asleep somewhere in the process. Dean smiled to himself before kicking off his shoes and shedding his shirt. He tip toed over to the bed grabbing the remote and turning the TV off. He put it on the bedside desk and turned off the lamp before climbing on the bed with Roman. Roman stirred, looking confused until he realized who it was. "Dean?"

"Hey." Dean pulled Roman into a laying position and wrapped an arm around him.

"Where'd you go? I couldn't find you."

"I had to clear my head."

"Fucking worried about you."

Dean swallowed hard and kissed Roman on the jaw. "Sorry. Just go back to sleep. We'll talk or whatever in the morning."

Roman mumbled something Dean couldn't understand before drifting back off to sleep. Dean gave his jaw another kiss before settling his head down and glaring at the clock. He didn't feel anywhere close to falling asleep, and he was rapidly running out of time that he could even do it. He looked at Roman again, who was completely relaxed in his arms. At least one of them was going to get some rest.


	14. Chapter 14

Roman took a long sip of his coffee, not caring how much it burned his tongue. He and Dean had stopped to pick some up at a gas station before they hit the road. They really should have picked up something to eat, but neither one of them had been hungry enough to do it. Everything from the night before along with knowing that they had to have a serious talk weighed too heavily on them. Roman knew they just needed to get it over with. The longer they drew it out the harder it was going to be. But he still didn't really want to do it. Discussing the possibility of Dean having actual feelings for Wyatt sounded just awful to him.

"I didn't get enough creamer," Dean grumbled. He stared at his coffee unhappily, looking as if he was trying to just wish more creamer into it. "We should make another stop."

Roman rolled his eyes. "We can't stop. We're running behind as it is."

"Should stop anyway." Dean mumbled that statement more than anything, knowing Roman wouldn't actually do it. He set the coffee down in the cup holder and started fiddling with the radio. "The fuck should we listen to?"

Roman just shrugged. "Whatever you want is fine."

"Not helpful Romeo." Dean flipped through a few stations, finally settling on a classic country one. For awhile the music was the only sound in the car. Dean wasn't any more eager than Roman to have this conversation. Roman really considered not even bringing it up. It would be easier just to avoid it. But he knew that was a bad choice. This couldn't actually be avoided forever.

"Do you love him?"

Dean did a double take at the question. "What?"

Roman swallowed hard. He hadn't really intended to start so bluntly, but he couldn't turn back now. "Bray. Do you love him?"

Dean blinked, just staring at him until he realized he wasn't going to back down from the question. "I...I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"What do you think that means?"

"I think that's something you should actually know!"

"It's not that fucking easy for me!" Dean shrunk back a bit, his body stiffening as he got defensive. "I don't fucking know what to call it. I just...there's something." He shrugged. "And then there's you and there's something with you that I just...I don't want to lose you."

Roman wanted to ask if that something was love, but decided against it. From how uncomfortable Dean looked in trying to express it, he had a feeling that it was. His stomach felt fluttery at the realization. "Have you ever thought about? Choosing between us I mean?"

Dean shrugged. "I didn't figure I had to."

"Why?"

"Do I really have to say it?"

Roman just looked at him.

"Ro! Come on. Was I really supposed to believe you were really going to choose me?" He shook his head, trying to play it off. Roman still saw the flash of hurt in his eyes though and it made him hurt in return. "You got the kid and you were staying for her. I figured I'd just be riding this until you couldn't do it anymore and then that would be that. I'd be alone again." He tapped his fingers against his legs, still doing everything he could to avoid direct eye contact.

"And then you were just planning on being with Bray?" Roman almost felt like he should stop, but his mouth wasn't obeying.

Another shrug. "I didn't really fucking plan anything Ro. I didn't even fucking intend to start fucking sleeping with him. It just happened. And then he fucking came to my place for Christmas and -"

"Wait what?" Roman nearly swerved into the other lane at those words.

Dean froze, seemingly realized what he had just said. "Fuck."

"You didn't tell me you were with him during Christmas." Roman regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. It was mostly for how he said them. It gave away the flare of jealousy that coursed through him. He didn't have the right to feel that way. Not when he had been home with his family then. But even as he told himself this, the feeling didn't just go away.

"When the fuck was I supposed to even bring it up?" Dean was getting defensive again, which wasn't good.

"He actually celebrates Christmas?" Roman decided to shift the focus of this topic just a little bit. He needed to make sure Dean didn't feel backed into a corner. "That just seems...that's weird."

"I think he was lonely. He didn't like say it and shit, but he don't got Harper and Rowan anymore. And I mean, it sucks to be alone when everyone's blabbing about spending time with their families."

Roman tightened his grip on the wheel. He couldn't exactly feel bad for Wyatt. Bray was an evil bastard and Roman wanted him to rot in hell. But knowing Dean had been lonely bothered him. He had tried to invite him to stay down in Florida during that time. All of his family had been there, and they viewed Dean as one of their own already. But Dean had refused, coming up with some bullshit excuse. Roman couldn't even remember what it was. He just knew Dean had been avoiding getting near his wife ever since their affair started. He couldn't really blame him. If he was honest with himself, that was just an awkward situation waiting to happen.

"Are you really going to leave her?" The question was asked so quietly that Roman almost didn't catch it. Dean still wasn't actually looking at him. That fact was really starting to bother him.

"I told you I was."

"But why?" Dean finally looked at him, though Roman almost wished he hadn't now. Confusion, distrust, fear...Dean tried to hide them, but he failed. Roman saw right through him. "Come on. Let's be real here. A guy like you doesn't fucking choose a guy like me."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means."

"I know you're speaking a bunch of bullshit. That's what I know." Roman was halfway tempted to pull the car over so he could try to shake some sense into Dean. "I love you. You know that. I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago and making my choice." It was hard to tell if Dean believed him. There was deep rooted insecurity in Dean. He knew that. Seth had made him aware of that long before Dean had even liked him. And he felt like shit because there was no way he had been making it better. Hell, he had probably been making it worse. "I choose you." He swallowed hard, the next words being painful to even think, much less say. "Even if you don't choose me."

Dean's reaction was some sort of mix between a flinch and a double take. He stared at Roman for the longest time but didn't actually say anything. Roman thought about saying more. He was on the cusp of doing it, but made himself stop. He didn't really know what more he could say. So he kept quiet instead, hoping that what had been said was enough.

* * *

Despite the fact that Dean had stormed out of Seth's hotel room on his own, he still ended up arriving at the arena with Roman. Bray wasn't exactly surprised by the development. The brute had a hold on Dean that made Bray's blood boil. It was what made him leave another cut up picture in Roman's bag, giving him the message of anyone but him once again. There wasn't a real big meaning behind it this time. He just wanted to rile him up. And rile him up he did. He got him so riled up that Kane ended up kicking him out of the building before the show was even over. Bray hadn't actually expected that, but it was a situation that he would gladly take advantage of. It gave him the chance to swoop in on Dean after he had gotten backstage from his match. He had lost to Seth in the main event, which surprised absolutely nobody. The numbers game of the Authority was always too much for him to overcome.

"Should have roughed them up more," Bray said ruefully as he sat down beside Dean. Dean had plopped down behind some of the equipment, clearly intending to stay hidden. "To be honest, I didn't expect to have them still be this bothersome."

"Cuz they're roaches," Dean mumbled. He hadn't even looked up since Bray had sat down. "You can't kill roaches."

Bray let out a small chuckle "I suppose you can't." He studied Dean closely, taking in not only how pale he looked, but the large bags under his eyes as well. "No sleep again?"

The way Dean grunted was a confirmation.

"Just your insomnia again or did he keep you awake?"

Dean groaned. "Fucking stop. I don't even want to hear that shit."

"I'm not starting anything," Bray denied. "It was a simple question."

Dean didn't look convinced. "I don't have the energy to deal with you being all jealous and shit. I just don't." He finally looked at Bray, tired eyes pleading with him. "Just...don't okay? I got too much shit to think about."

Roman's words about leaving his wife to be with Dean popped back into Bray's head. They were hard for him to even really believe. Roman had said for so long that he had wanted to keep his family together for his child's sake. And now suddenly the desire was gone? No. He didn't believe that. Or maybe he just didn't want to. That was admittedly a possibility, but not one Bray really wanted to entertain. It didn't even really matter anyway, because he could see how Dean was wanting to believe it. "Has he even done it yet?" Bray thought that was a fair thing to ask.

"He's going to."

"Oh he's going to? So he still hasn't even done it." Bray shook his head. "What makes you really think he's going to do it then? His word? The word of a cheater doesn't seem much good to me."

"And your word is so much better?" Dean tried to scoot away, but with where they were sitting, there wasn't really anywhere for him to go. "I hate to break it to you, but your perception of reality is a little fucking warped."

"You not liking how I see things doesn't make me warped," Bray countered. "You see what you want to see when it comes to him."

"And about everyone has told me I'm that way with you, so I don't know why you're talking so god damn much." Dean stretched his legs out, wincing a bit as he did so. "Fuck. My fucking knee is killing me."

"Did you tweak it?" Bray readied himself to get up and go get some ice.

"Nah. I think I'm just getting fucking old." Dean let out a brittle laugh. "Wrestling years is like dog years I think." He rubbed his knee and bit down on his lower lip. "I fucking get tired of losing to him all the time." The subject turned back to Seth once again. "I know him better than about anybody. I know all the fucking shenanigans to expect. I should be able to fucking beat him."

Maybe that was true, but Bray wasn't going to say it right now. Instead he stood up and offered his hand out to Dean. "Come on darlin."

Dean started shaking his head. "Bray I -"

Bray didn't want to hear the refusal. It would just mean that Dean would slip away from him that much sooner. He wasn't letting that happen. He yanked Dean up to his feet and started pulling him along. Dean let out a string of profanities, but didn't actually try to escape Bray's grip. He was either too tired to fight, or didn't really want to. Maybe it was both even. Bray didn't care. He just kept pulling him along, getting a couple of ice packs before getting them to the locker room Dean had been sharing with Roman. He directed Dean to the bench and sat him down on it. He put one of the ice packs on his knee while putting the other on his shoulder. Even if he wasn't complaining about it it was good to get some on there.

"I need a shower," Dean grumbled. He adjusted the ice packs to his liking, shivering a bit as their coldness got to him. "I fucking feel all sticky and shit."

Bray smirked. "That's how I actually like you best."

Dean rolled his eyes, lips twitching into a smirk of his own. "Fucking weirdo."

Bray chuckled before leaning down for a kiss. Dean returned it, his fingers gripping the front of Bray's shirt lightly. Bray didn't want to break it. This was where Dean belonged. Dean was meant to be his. Dean would understand that better if it wasn't for Roman. Bray was certain of that. Dean's head was clouded, but Bray would make it clear. Even if Roman was finally wanting to make Dean fully his, it wouldn't matter. Bray would make sure there was nothing left of him and then Dean would finally be only his.

* * *

Dean didn't fly back to Vegas after the Smackdown taping. That had been the original plan, but he had changed his mind. With all the stuff weighing so heavily on his mind, he knew going to his apartment wasn't really a good option. Bray would more than likely just pop in and make his attempts to actually think things through that much harder. He didn't need Bray trying to come in and cloud his judgment. He needed to have a clear head to sort through his feelings and figure out what choice he was going to make. Going back and forth between Roman and Bray wasn't really an option anymore. Not with Roman looking to get out of his marriage and Bray actively looking to just destroy Roman. He had to make his choice. It wouldn't end the whole war the other two had going on, but it would hopefully at least get him out of the middle of it.

Figuring out what to do though was much easier said than done. For each way he leaned, he then immediately came up with reasons that he shouldn't and then went the other direction. Over and over again he did this, doing it all while he laid on a cheap bed at the tiny motel he had holed himself up in by the airport. It was another night of no sleep, which was the last thing he needed. Exhaustion was not going to help him think this through.

"God damn it." He finally rolled off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. He didn't even turn on the light as he rinsed his face off with cold water. His back ached from the hard mattress. He mumbled a few curses under his breath, wishing that this was easier. These were his own damn feelings. Why the fuck couldn't he sort them out? It was stupid that he couldn't.

Then again, it wasn't like life had given him very many situations where what he wanted actually mattered. Maybe it wasn't so stupid that he was terrible at this.

He heaved out a sigh and turned the water off. He lifted his shirt to dry his face off before letting it drop and going back out of the room. He didn't get back on the bed. Instead he grabbed his phone from his bag and leaned back against the wall. He scrolled through his contacts list, which wasn't all that long. There was Roman, who was not a neutral party he could turn to. Jimmy hadn't wanted anything to do with the situation according to Roman so he was out. Tamina would probably kill him and then Roman if he told her what was going on. The same went for Naomi. Jey had a sick kid at home according to Naomi, so Dean wouldn't bother him. There was only one other number on the list. Dean stared at it for he longest time, unsure of what to do. Dean hadn't talked to him in ages. The last time they had even texted was the night Dean had won the United States title. But Dean didn't know what else to do. He had to turn to somebody and this was his only option.

He dialed the number and waited. It rang several times, making Dean afraid the other man wouldn't pick up. Finally though, the sleepy voice of Solomon Crowe finally greeted him. "Hello?"

"Hey." Dean knew that one word greeting wasn't exactly a great start considering what time it was, but it was all he had.

"What the...Dean?" Solomon let out a loud groan. "What the fuck are you doing? Are you drunk? Do you know what time it is?"

"No and yeah. I'm sorry." Dean rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I just um...I'm kind of in some shit right now."

"Shit? Like jail?" Solomon groaned again. "I swear to fucking christ if you're in jail I'm not wiring you any money."

"No damn it. I just...I uh...there's just some personal shit. And I uh...look, it's complicated. I just...can I fly out to your place and crash there for a couple days? My place isn't good right now."

"Fucking hell." Solomon had a few more choice things to grumble, but Dean didn't quite catch all of them. "Yeah." That was finally something Dean could understand. "Whatever. Just let me go back to sleep."

"Thanks man." Dean sighed in relief. He was surprised how easy that was. Solomon wasn't always the nicest of people when he got woken up. "You're the best."

The reply to that he got was a loud snore. Dean rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. He slipped it into his pocket before grabbing his bag. Staying there any longer was not appealing. He'd rather just try to get some sleep on the first flight to Orlando he could catch.


	15. Chapter 15

Despite the fact that he had texted Solomon and said that he would just catch a cab to his place, his former tag team partner was waiting for him at the airport. It wasn't a surprise he was objecting to. Instead he just managed a small grin as he walked over to the shorter man. "Hey." He adjusted his grip on his bag and stopped in front of him.

"Hey." Solomon pulled him into a brief hug. He hadn't taken off his sunglasses, and Dean was fairly certain that the Batman beanie he was wearing had actually been his at one time. He didn't point that out though. He just returned the hug, figuring he could just find a way to steal it back while he was here. "You look like shit."

Dean rolled his eyes and slipped out of the embrace. "Like you look much better." He snatched the hat off Solomon's head and gestured towards his hair. "The fuck have you been doing with that shit lately man? Like seriously."

"Fuck you." Solomon snatched the hat back and put it on his head. "At least I have more than you."

"Why the fuck is that always your people's go to insult?" Dean reached up and self-consciously touched his hair. "It's really fucking rude."

Solomon just snickered. He wasn't sorry. Dean nearly punched him in the chest for being a dick, but decided to let it go. He followed Solomon to the car, throwing his stuff in the trunk so they could get in and take off. "You rooming with anyone?" He hadn't even thought to ask that before. A lot of people had roomed together when he had been down in FCW. Developmental contracts really weren't all that big, so getting roommates was typically found to be necessary.

"Jess is living with me, but she's up visiting family in Ohio. She won't be back until Monday."

Right. The girlfriend. Dean had forgotten about her. That was good though. Dean hadn't really wanted to have too much company. Solomon was enough.

To his credit, Solomon didn't immediately push him into saying why he wanted to come down here. That wasn't his style. Instead he drove them to the nearest Taco Bell, declaring that he was absolutely starving. Dean wasn't so hungry himself, but that didn't stop him from scarfing down a few tacos of his own. Eating at least gave him something to do. He wasn't ready to get inside his own head and even contemplate the choice he was going to have to make. He knew he couldn't put it off for long. His days off would go by quick and then he would be faced with the reality of the mess he was in.

"You want to come to the NXT tapings tomorrow?" Solomon didn't completely finish chewing and swallowing his food before asking, resulting in little pieces of hamburger flying everywhere. Dean wrinkled his nose, but Solomon either didn't notice or just didn't care. "I know you had that shit with Regal, but we could easily avoid him. It's not like he really ever bothers me."

The offer wasn't completely unappealing, but Dean was suspicious as to why it was on the table. "Are you just afraid of leaving me alone in your apartment again?"

"Well..."

"Oh come on! You can't trust me?"

"Not when you start fires and nearly burn all my shit."

It was a valid point, but it wasn't appreciated. "One time! I did that one fucking time." He huffed out a sigh as he realized he wasn't going to be cut a break. "Whatever. I'll go to the damn taping. Happy?"

"My apartment's still gonna be standing so yeah. I am actually."

Dean flipped him off before going back to eating his food.

* * *

Roman let out a long sigh as he closed his car door. He had stormed out of the house, ending the argument with his wife that he had gone out of his way to pick. It had escalated into a shouting match, partly by design and partly because he really was on edge. The situation between him, Dean and Bray was doing in him. Not knowing what Dean was going to do scared him. He didn't know what he was going to do with himself if Dean chose Bray. It hadn't been an option he had really considered. But now it was a real possibility and he felt completely lost. He wanted to do something to change that, but he wasn't sure that it wasn't already too late. Maybe he had already lost and just didn't know it yet.

He started the car and pulled out of his driveway. He didn't know where he was going. There was no good destination in his mind. Maybe he would just drive aimlessly. Fuck actually going anywhere. He could just kill some time and...well, he'd figure it out after he was done killing the time.

It was almost an hour later that his phone rang. He was pulled up at the stoplight, waiting for it to finally turn green again. He glanced down at the number on the screen, intending to ignore it until he saw that it was Kane calling. He let out a loud groan. Talking to the Authority's lap dog was the last thing he wanted to do. But given that he was still in hot water for skipping out on the house show, he couldn't afford to do it. He had to play semi-nice.

"Hello?"

"Reigns. We need you at the NXT taping tomorrow night."

Well he certainly didn't waste any time. Roman could at least appreciate that. "What? Why?"

"There's supposed to be a six man tag with Balor, Joe and Neville teaming up together. Neville tweaked his knee during the Smackdown taping though, and Hunter don't want to put him in the ring until he sees the doctor."

Of course. Hunter always babied his NXT "kids" over anyone else. "But why me? You've got more than enough talent down there."

"Yeah well, Hunter wants a main roster surprise. And considering your recent delinquency, we figured that you would be eager to make up for it. You don't want us thinking you're unreliable, now do you?"

Roman couldn't really give much of a damn what they thought, but that wasn't something he could say. "Fine. I'll be there."

"Good." Kane hung up abruptly, leaving Roman to do the same. He dropped his phone on to the passenger's seat and sighing. The light had turned green again, finally allowing him to go. His driving continued to be aimless, the thoughts of going to Orlando now weighing heavily on him. He hated having to go. He had wanted to use this weekend to start getting out of his marriage. He needed to get it done He had wasted enough time as it was. He didn't need more to go by.

"Fuck." He started looking for a place to turn around. He needed to figure out where he was so he could go home. It wasn't that long of a drive between his place and Full Sail. He could drive home right after the next night and have the talk he needed to have with his wife once he got home. It wasn't going to go well, but it was as good of a plan as he was going to come up with.

* * *

 _The darkness engulfed Dean, leaving him unable to see his own hand as he tried to put it in front of his face. Normally this kind of thing made him nervous, especially when he didn't even know where he was. But he wasn't being given the chance to worry about it. He was sandwiched between two large bodies, their hands running all over his body. A pair of lips were on his, stealing all the breath that he had. Another mouth was traveling against his back and shoulder blades, biting roughly as it went. He shivered, recognizing who they belonged to. Roman was in front of him, still kissing him as his hand started groping him through his jeans. Bray was behind him, biting him even harder._

 _"Fuck!" He broke his mouth away from Roman's as he cried out. He tilted his head back as Roman started kissing his neck. It was almost too much. They hadn't even really started, but it was already sending him into a complete overload. His senses felt like they were on fire. His cock was rock hard, just aching to be free from his jeans. That relief wasn't granted. Roman continued rubbing instead while Bray kept biting. "Fuck!" He didn't know who to move towards. Roman's hand felt so good, but Bray's mouth sent a jolt of pure pleasure through him that nearly made him delirious._

 _"Such a pretty little lamb." Bray grabbed Dean by the hair and turned his head so he could kiss him now. His kiss was harsher than Roman's. It felt like he was trying to steal his soul through his lips. "Can you be good for us little lamb? Huh?"_

 _Dean nodded far more desperately than he would ever want to admit. He could be good._ _He could be so fucking good that they wouldn't even know_ _what to do._

 _Bray pushed him down to his knees and traded places with Roman._ _Dean's hands immediately went to his pants, unbuttoning them and freeing_ _his cock. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, letting him actually see_ _what he was doing. He moved forward and wrapped his mouth around the_ _length, his head eagerly bobbing as he hollowed his cheeks and sucked hard._ _Bray's fingers threaded through his hair, twisting and holding on tightly._ _"That's it darlin. Such a good little lamb we got."_

 _Dean dug his fingers into Bray's legs, torn between looking up at_ _him and wanting to move his eyes to try to see Roman._

 _As if he sensed what he wanted, Roman knelt down right beside him._ _His lips traveled across Dean's shoulder, the tip of his tongue tracing_ _over the bite marks Bray had left behind. He yanked down Dean's jeans as_ _far as he could get them before wrapping a hand around Dean's dick. He_ _stroked it slowly, smirking as Dean let out a muffled moan. "That's it_ _baby. Let me make you feel good."_

 _Dean whimpered as he felt large, slick fingers slowly sliding_ _inside of him. When the hell had Roman lubed them up? Dean couldn't figure_ _it out. He didn't even really care. He just closed his eyes, struggling to_ _keep his focus on sucking Bray. Too much. It was too much again. Heat_ _pooled in the pit of his stomach and he whimpered as Roman moved his hands_ _and fingers faster, sweet nothings being whispered at him from all_ _directions..._

A loud crash from the other room made Dean's eyes snap open. He groaned, his cock still hard from his dream. "God damn it." He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to shake off the lingering images from that dream. That shit had come completely out of left field. In the time he had been with both of them, he hadn't ever even thought of stuff like that. It was useless. They wouldn't ever go for it. They hated each other entirely too much to consider it.

He laid there for a bit, trying to will his hard on. When it didn't die down he sighed and wrapped a hand around it, letting himself think of his dream again as he stroked himself. He kept himself as quiet as possible, not wanting Solomon to come by and hear him. Only the smallest of whimpers escaped him as he came. "Fuck." He rolled off the bed and cleaned up his mess with some tissues before changing his boxers and leaving the room. He went to the kitchen to get a drink, finding Solomon there eating a sandwich. "What the fuck was that crash?" he asked as he got a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Broke a plate," Solomon replied. He held up his half eaten sandwich. "Want a bite?"

Dean shook his head. It looked like the usual salami with mustard that Solomon always used to eat. "No thanks."

"Whatever man. It's your loss." Solomon took another bite as Dean sat down. "Hey man, can I ask you something?"

"Well technically you -"

"Dude, if you say I already did, I'll fucking punch you square in the nuts."

Dean pouted. That felt like a gross overreaction.

"But seriously, can I ask you something? And have you be fucking honest?"

"Yeah alright. What?"

"Why did you ask to come here?" Solomon put his sandwich down on his napkin and leveled Dean with a serious look. "I mean, I don't mind having you, but it's not like we're really that close anymore. You've got your thing going and I've got mine. What made you want to come hide out here?"

Dean shifted around uncomfortably in his chair. "It's kind of complicated."

"I like complicated. Lay it on me."

Dean wasn't the type to normally do that. It wasn't his style. But this time it all came rushing out of hi before he could stop himself. He told him everything, going back to when he had started sleeping with Roman, to the development of his and Bray's relationship, to juggling them both, Bray starting the feud because of his own jealousy and to finally getting to the choice he was going to have to make. Solomon just listened, forgetting all about his sandwich as Dean kept talking. By the time he was done, Solomon was just staring at him with a mix of amazement and disbelief.

"God damn Mox." He shook his head and let out a sigh. "You really know how to get yourself into messes don't you?"

Dean snorted. "Yeah. You can say that."

"Jesus man." Solomon leaned back in his chair. "Do you think making this choice is actually going to help anything?"

Dean shook his head. "They're going to keep fighting no matter what I do. But I can't like, keep being in the middle. Roman's making his choice, Bray's already made his - I can't keep stringing this along even longer."

"Then can I suggest something?"

"You're going to whether I say yes or no, so go ahead."

Solomon put his chair back on all four legs and leaned forward. "I honestly feel like you should say fuck both of them."

Dean frowned. "What?"

"No seriously dude. Fuck this being the monkey in the middle bullshit. They're both fucking selfish. Roman's made you the god damn other man and Bray's just...like dude, I don't think he's targeting Roman just because you're fucking him. I mean, I might be wrong, but given the fact he's got a history of leading cults, I'm kind of leaning on Bray wanting you isolated so he can like, make you devoted only to him."

"That's not -"

"Dude no." Solomon cut him off before he could object too much. "Just think about it. If he gets Roman out of the picture, who do you really got?"

Dean didn't answer. He didn't have anyone he could really point out. He and Solomon had drifted apart, and while Roman's cousins all liked him, it wasn't like they were inseparable. Roman was his one and only true best friend.

"Just say fuck it to both of them and get out of this mess," Solomon insisted. "You'll be better off."

Maybe he had a point, but Dean knew he wouldn't do it. He was in too deep anyway to escape now.

Solomon sighed. He sensed what Dean was thinking. "Who the hell are you leaning towards then? There's gotta be one."

Dean didn't answer for a long time. He looked down at the table, debating everything in his head before he finally spoke. "Roman."

"And why him?"

Dean groaned. "Do I have to say it?"

"You're not gonna fucking get anywhere by not fucking saying it asshole."

Dean groaned again. "I...I love him."

"So why is there even a debate?"

Dean brought his hand up and rubbed it against his collarbone. "I think I might kind of love Wyatt too."

"...Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Solomon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You were the one who said I had to say shit," Dean reminded him.

"Yeah yeah yeah." Solomon let his hand fall back to the table. "But do you love Roman more?"

"I...yeah. I think so. But like...he's all saying he's choosing me. But I don't think he gets what that means. He's gonna be sacrificing the life he built with his family. He could be giving up his standing in the company if we ever came out with our thing. What if he does it and then he realizes I'm not worth that?" Dean swallowed hard. "I just...Bray's easier because he's got nothing to lose. I don't have to be afraid that he'll resent me because he's got nothing to give up."

"And what if you do choose Bray to protect yourself? What if that breaks you and Roman apart to where you're not even friends anymore?"

Dean froze, absolutely petrified at that thought.

Solomon shook his head and placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "You gotta do what's best for you. You have to think about who's gonna make you happier. And really, given how things are going, you have to think of this as a make or break situation between you and them. You gotta think about who you could stand to lose in this."

Dean bit down on his lower lip. He knew Solomon was right, but that didn't make it much easier. If he chose the safer route for himself and went with Bray he would lose Roman. Maybe Roman would say he wasn't going anywhere, but Bray would make him. But if he chose Roman, he would not only be without someone to fall back on if they fell apart, but Bray would probably come after Roman even more for winning. "Fuck man. This fucking blows."

"Yeah I know." Solomon squeezed Dean's shoulder. "But like I said, do what makes you happy. Make the choice that's best for you. That's all you can do."

Dean nodded. "Thanks man."

"Any time."


	16. Chapter 16

Roman didn't expect to get a text message from Cass and Enzo inviting him out to breakfast. It wasn't like he really knew either of them. Cass had been in FCW while he had been, but they hadn't hung out all that much. And he hadn't even met Enzo until this past WrestleMania weekend. But he accepted the offer all the same. He had no issues with anyone in the NXT locker room. It wouldn't hurt to try to be sociable. So he texted them back agreeing to the plan, meeting up with them in the parking lot of a diner that was just a few blocks away from Full Sail. They were waiting for him when they got there, Carmella scrolling through her phone while Enzo was talking animatedly to Cass. The larger man was nodding along, seemingly very absorbed with what the smaller man was saying. Roman smiled to himself. They reminded him a bit of him and Dean. Dean wasn't as loud as Enzo was, but he waved his hands all around the same way when he got really into a conversation. "Hey guys." He broke through their distractions with his greeting, hoping he didn't look as exhausted as he actually was. Everything that had been going on lately had kept him from sleeping all that well.

"Hey Roman." Cass waved a hand at Enzo to make him shut up. "How you doin' man?"

"Good now that it finally stopped raining." Roman took a glance up at the sky. It had rained his entire way there, making it hard for him to even see where he was going at times. "It's not supposed to start again is it?"

"You'd have to ask Bayley man," Enzo replied. He looked over at Carmella, who was still looking at her phone. "Think she's here?"

Carmella raised her head and gave him an annoyed look. "Why would I know where she is?"

"Well you're the one making googly eyes at her every chance you get. I figured you'd just be keeping tabs on her while you were at it."

The look she gave him spelled all kinds of trouble. Roman decided to quickly change the subject before an argument started. "So what's good at this place? I've never actually been here before."

"Pancakes." Cass gave him a grateful look. He ushered Roman inside, giving both Enzo and Carmella a glare that told them to follow and not start with each other again. "Their omelettes are pretty good too, but the pancakes are the best. We all come here all the time for them."

Roman nodded, not thinking anything of the "we all" part of that sentence until they stepped inside. The diner was packed, but right in the middle of the restaraunt were several tables that were pushed together and filled with several more members of the NXT roster. Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Simon Gotch, Aiden English, Zack Ryder (okay he wasn't actually NXT roster but he probably was good as at this point), Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn (still in his sling the poor guy), Solomon Crowe, Dean -

 _Wait..._

Roman blinked and shook his head, taken aback by the sight of Dean sitting in between Solomon and Corey Graves. He had no idea what he was doing there. Kane hadn't said anything about calling Dean to the show as well. "Dean?"

Dean looked up from the tower he had been making with the little jelly packets, his eyes widening in surprise. "Roman? What are you doing here?"

"Yeah really." Solomon's eyes narrowed even as Mojo and Zack made room for him, Enzo, Cass and Carmella. "What are you doing here?"

There was a bite to Solomon's tone that briefly threw Roman for a loop. Dean elbowed the smaller man in the ribs before looking to Roman again for his answer. "Neville's knee needs checked out." Roman sat down, ignoring the looks he was getting from the others in favor of keeping his attention on Dean. "Kane's having me fill in." He gestured to Dean himself as he sat down between Cass and Carmella. "What are you doing here?"

Dean pointed to Solomon. "I'm hanging out with him and he won't let me stay at his place alone. He thinks I'll start a fire or some shit."

Roman smirked. "Does he have a reason to?"

Dean pouted. "It only happened once..."

"Once was enough." Solomon gave Roman what was definitely an evil eye before putting another jelly packet on Dean's stack of them.

"Careful asshole. You're gonna knock it over."

"I should just do it on purpose."

"I'll whoop your ass."

"I'd like to see you try."

Roman's lips twitched. The argument kept right on going, the two of them getting more and more elaborate with their threats of violence. It was absolutely ridiculous and immature. It reminded him a bit of how Dean and Seth would get once Dean had gotten the younger man all riled up. Roman always used to tell the two of them to stop, but he didn't this time. It wasn't his place, and he was too distracted anyway. He liked seeing Dean so relaxed. It didn't happen nearly enough. It probably wouldn't last either (it never did), but Roman wished it would. He liked not seeing Dean snarling and ready to rip someone apart. He liked not seeing him physically or emotionally exhausted, which was far too normal at this point. Of course, Roman knew that he himself contributed to the latter. He hadn't really stopped to think about how Dean felt being in the middle of his and Bray's war. He hadn't stopped to think about Dean's feelings towards Bray. He had assumed that Wyatt had just been a way to pass the time, not as someone who actually offered Dean stuff that he hadn't been. He felt like a complete asshole. He had to make it up to Dean. He didn't know exactly how yet, but he was going to try to think of something.

"Ro! Dude!" Dean's fingers snapped right in front of Roman's face. "Yo! You gotta order mother fucker."

Roman blinked. He hadn't even realized that the waitress had come to their table. Everyone was looking at him now, most of them just waiting for him to order. Only Dean and Solomon seemed to have any sort of idea as to what was on his mind. "Pancakes," he said without even thinking. "Just give me a big stack of pancakes."

The waitress wrote it down and walked away, having finally gotten everyone's orders. Almost everyone else went right back to talking among themselves. Only Dean and Solomon stayed quiet. Dean was frowning, clearly concerned, while Solomon just looked suspicious. Roman chose to ignore that last part in favor of giving Dean his best attempt at a reassuring smile. It wasn't really believed, but Dean wasn't going to give him shit for it now. It would wait until later, which was a relief Roman would take for now.

* * *

Upon arriving to the arena, the NXT talents and crew members were called over to one of the university's spare classrooms for some kind of meeting. That left Dean and Roman to wander around, the two of them eventually ending up in the ring that had already been set up. "I wish we could have had this for more than we did," Roman said as he looked out at the seats that would be filled in just a few hours.

"At least you got to have it at all." Dean leaned back into the corner, hands coming to rest on the ropes on either side of him. "I was fucking banished from NXT the day it fucking started."

Roman winced. That fact had clearly slipped his mind. "That wasn't even fair man. I mean, Regal knew what he was signing up for. They didn't have to do you like that."

Dean just shrugged. Maiming Regal had landed him in several month purgatory that he didn't want to spend too much time thinking about now. Those days were so long gone that he barely thought of them anymore.

Roman shifted his weight from foot to foot, his expression getting more serious. "Dean I -"

"Wanna spar?" The question flew out of Dean's mouth before Roman could finish his statement. He didn't want to have this talk now. Not here. Not before the show. He didn't want any of the others noticing something was off with either of them and start asking questions. Solomon knowing was more than enough.

Roman stared at him for a few moments, eventually nodding as he seemed to sense why Dean was avoiding it. "Yeah. Sure." He moved to the center of the ring and smirked. "Just don't be mad when you lose though."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Me? Nah. You're gonna be the one to lose."

"Don't think so."

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"Fucker." Dean stepped away from the corner, smirking as they began circling each other. "I'll beat you so fast you won't even know what hit you."

Roman smirked back at him, his expression clearly daring him to try it. He went for it, trying to take Roman's legs out for under him. Roman caught him, managing to get him into a headlock instead. Dean cursed, throwing elbows until Roman's grip loosened. He slipped out of the hold and put Roman in a headlock of his own. "Hell yeah bitch." He cranked it on tight, digging his knuckles into the top of Roman's head while he was at it. "Noogie City mother fucker."

"Dean god damn it." Roman pushed Dean off of him and into the ropes. Dean came back at him, going for a shoulder block. Roman had the same idea, and with being the bigger and stronger one between them, he knocked Dean right on his back.

"Ow!" Dean started to get back up. "You fucking - hey!"

Roman was right on him, forcing him down into a pin. He quickly wiggled out of it, shoving Roman over to return the favor. They rolled around on the mat, exchanging the advantage over one another until finally Roman got it for keeps. He straddled Dean's waist, leaning over him as he pinned his wrists down above his head. His hair fell over their faces, shielding their mutual wide eyed expression from anyone that could potentially walk by.

"Ro..." Dean's voice died on him. Every inch of his body was humming, begging him to kiss the other man already. It didn't matter to him in that moment if anyone saw them. The rest of the world didn't even exist to him. There was just Roman. There was just fucking Roman, who was looking at him like he was something better than he actually was. That always scared the shit out of him. People didn't look at him like that. They usually saw him as the raving lunatic the commentators tried so hard to make him out to be, or a piece of street trash that wasn't good enough to be where he was. He hadn't ever looked at himself as anything good. He saw the street trash they talked about. He saw himself as weak. Even Bray, for all his love and devotion, encouraged that weakness. But Roman for whatever reason didn't see that. He saw him as strong. He saw him as a better person than he had ever thought about being in his life. He didn't understand it, but he didn't feel the immediate need to run from it like usual. He stayed completely still, heart racing as they kept staring at each other.

Roman finally made a move, leaning down to place a long, soft kiss to Dean's forehead. Dean closed his eyes, not opening them until Roman broke the kiss to speak.

"Stay with me tonight?"

Dean just nodded and gave Roman a kiss of his own.

* * *

Roman paced back and forth inside the room, trying to get himself psyched up for the match. He had already talked strategy with Finn and Joe, so he wasn't really worried about that. He was more trying to prep himself for the less than warm reaction he was sure to get. The Full Sail crowd didn't feel like one that he would be very welcomed in. Being hated wasn't something that was new; he had gotten plenty of heat during The Shield days. But since the Rumble, there had been crowds that had given him a much more venomous kind of heat than he used to get. They didn't dislike him because he was attacking people they liked. They hated him because of what they decided he stood for. An heir to John Cena's throne. An undeserving, untalented lug who was only where he was because he fit the mold of what Vince wanted for his top star. He tried not to let it bother him. He knew how hard he worked. He knew he deserved what success he got. But sometimes it still bothered him. He sometimes wondered if anything would be enough to shake the stigma that had now become attached to him.

A knock on his door nearly made him jump. He started heading for it, wanting to see who it was. The person on the other side didn't have that much patience though. The door opened right up and Solomon stepped through. "Hey," Roman said, immediately growing uncomfortable. He had been trying to be nice and whatever. Solomon was Dean's old buddy, so he wasn't looking to have a problem with him. But given how many dirty looks the other man kept giving him, there was clearly an issue at hand. "What's up?"

Solomon eyed him rather angrily, which was not helping anything. "We gotta talk."

"Alright." Roman folded his arms over his chest. "What about?"

"Dean."

Roman didn't find himself surprised. "Did he tell you something?"

"He told me all of it." Solomon put his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Roman. "All that shit with you and him, Bray and him, you and Bray - I know the whole god damn story."

"Is that why you've looked ready to kill my ass all day?" Roman did find himself a little surprised now. Dean hadn't really had contact with Solomon as far as he knew. He hadn't thought the two of them to be close anymore.

"I should have just punched you in the mouth on sight," Solomon growled. "You and Wyatt both deserve it."

"You still can if you want," Roman offered.

Solomon looked tempted, but he didn't do it. "You know what I told him about this whole thing? I fucking told him to just choose himself. I told him to get the fuck out of being the monkey in the middle. He deserves a lot more than being Bray's little pet or your side piece."

Roman narrowed his eyes. "I'm -"

"Choosing him, yeah yeah yeah. He told me." Solomon waved that off dismissively. "I don't fucking give a shit. Way I see it, you and Wyatt are both fucking selfish as shit, and he can do better." His hands did clench in a fist, but then quickly unclenched before he threw a punch. "But he won't listen to me. He's all in love, and he's never fucking liked being alone. I've seen him stay in some fucking toxic ass situations just so he would have someone to crawl into bed with every night." Solomon jabbed a finger into his chest. "If he chooses you - which I'm only reluctantly hoping for because I think Wyatt sinking his claws even deeper than he has is fucking dangerous - you better be keeping him every promise you've made that's kept him around this whole time. You better fucking treat him like the sun rises and sets on his fucking ass, you hear me? Because I swear to every fucking god there is in this stupid universe that if you don't, I will fucking hunt you down, rip out your spleen, and shove it down your fucking throat. Got it?"

That was quite the colorful threat. It had probably outdone Dean at his most violent and vindictive. He still found himself nodding though, appreciating where it had come from. It would be one he'd be making himself if the situation called for it. "Got it."

"Good." Solomon turned and started to walk away, only to stop and look back at him. "Roman?"

"Yeah?"

"If you tell him this conversation happened, I'm denying it and killing you for ratting me out."

Roman smirked. "You don't want him to know how protective you are?"

"Oh he knows. But he'll fucking strangle me for this, and I'm not in the mood to have that shit happen."

Roman nodded, knowing Dean wasn't always very good at taking someone trying to take care of him well. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Fucking better be mother fucker." Solomon took his leave, letting the door slam shut behind him. Roman let out a long sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. His concentration for the match was completely broken now, but he found it hard to care. All that mattered to him was getting through it so he could leave with Dean. They needed to talk and get things straightened out. He needed to make sure that whatever the choice Dean was about to make, it was the one that would make him happy - even if it didn't include him.


	17. Chapter 17

Dean winced as he watched Roman get changed. The match had ultimately ended well; Roman had taken out Baron Corbin with a spear while Joe and Finn had taken care of Blake with a muscle buster/ coup de gras combo that won them the match. But the fight getting to that point had been rough. Roman had been up on the top rope, shoving Murphy off of him when he had tried to go for a superplex. Blake had snuck up on him as he tried to go for a rare top rope move immediately after, and shoved him off the turnbuckle. Roman had landed so badly on the floor that Dean had thought he had broken his neck. Other referees and trainers had come out to try to make him go to the back so they could check on him, but he had refused their attention. The stubborn asshole had climbed back into the ring and finished the match. Despite knowing that he would have done the same thing, Dean found himself absolutely pissed off at Roman for it. He could have been hurt and made it all worse. He was definitely shaken up. Dean could tell that for sure. "Ro..."

"I'm fine," Roman quickly insisted. He tried to bite back a groan as he slipped his shirt on, but he wasn't anywhere near successful. "I'm fucking sore as shit, but I'm fine."

Dean shook his head. He didn't believe that. He wanted to push the matter and make Roman listen to him. But he knew it wasn't going to do any good. Roman was too much like him in this regard. They didn't like admitting they were hurt. They would rather keep their pain to themselves and hope they could just will themselves into getting better.

"We'll have to get a hotel to stay in." Roman was finished dressing and had grabbed his bag. "I didn't know you were coming so I didn't book one."

"You were just going to go home?"

"Yeah. Figured I'd do the show, drive home and then uh, deal with dropping the divorce bomb."

Dean felt his stomach do a flip at those words. He tried to ignore it, though he felt certain Roman could tell it from the way he twitched. "We could save you some money and just stay the night at Solomon's."

Roman made a face. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he don't really like me."

Dean had definitely noticed that. He wasn't stupid. "I can tell him to get the fuck over it."

"Nah. That's his house. We don't need to be pissing him off by having me stay there." Roman stepped up and kissed Dean before he could try to argue more. Dean thought about pulling away to protest, but that didn't last longer than a couple of seconds. His hands reached up to touch Roman's face. He didn't want to put drape his arms around his neck. Not when he was still so unsure of how his neck really was.

"You want to go out?" Dean asked when they broke the kiss. They stayed right up in each other's faces, eyes only half open as they touched foreheads. "Get some drinks or something?"

"Drinks yeah. Bar no." Roman moves his head back as Dean's eyes open more to give him a confused look. "If we get some beer from the store I know a place we can go."

Dean nodded. That sounded good to him. It was probably better anyway. If they were going to do any talking, they couldn't be at a bar. That usually just lead to too much drinking and fighting. "I'll drive," he offered.

Roman shook his head. "I can do it."

"No. I've got it." Dean reached into Roman's pocket and pulled out the keys. "Just tell me where to go."

Roman looked ready to try to argue again, but he didn't. He let it go, following Dean out of the locker room instead. People nodded at them as they passed, almost nobody's gaze lingering on for more than a second. The only person's that did was Solomon. Dean could feel his staying on them the whole time they were in his sight. He knew the younger man didn't approve. He knew he wanted him to pick himself and get out of the whole mess that was their situation. But it was too late for that. He was in far too deep now to just walk away with nobody. Or maybe he was just too weak and lonely to want to. It wasn't reasoning he was looking to explore deeply. He just kept his gaze straight ahead, pretending he didn't notice the look they were getting. Solomon's other words kept repeating themselves in his head. Do what made him happy. Figure out who he couldn't lose. That was the advice he could follow.

He just hoped he didn't find a way to fuck shit up as he did it.

* * *

The lake Roman directed them to wasn't too far from the store they picked the beer up from. It was a place he used to go to a lot when he had been down in NXT. He had stumbled upon it one night when he couldn't sleep and had gone out for a drive. He had come back several times, parking himself at the dock to just sit and look out in the water. Nobody had ever been out there when he came. And nobody was there now. He and Dean pulled up to the dock, finding the spot as abandoned as ever. They got out of the car, Dean pocketing the keys while Roman grabbed the six pack of beer. His bags were in the trunk, forgotten about for now. They hadn't stopped to at least get a room yet. They probably should have, but it went silently agreed on that they could worry about it later.

"Should have stopped somewhere to get a couple chairs," Dean said as they sat down. He was able to plop down with no problem, but Roman, still being a bit sore from his match, had a little more trouble. "Are you fucking sure you're going to be alright? I'll take you to the fucking hospital man."

"Fuck the hospital." Roman knew that was hypocritical of him to say considering how often he lectured Dean about taking care of himself, but it was the stance he was sticking with. "I'm not that bad off."

Dean didn't look very convinced. "Fucking scared me earlier you ass." He tried to say it like he was annoyed, but his attempted tone didn't reach his eyes.

"Sorry." Roman made the apology even though he hadn't done it on purpose. Getting shoved off the top rope was never in his list of plans. But Dean didn't ever admit to being scared of anything, and Roman didn't want to make him defensive by getting that way himself.

Dean mumbled something Roman couldn't really hear before grabbing the first beer and cracking it open. Roman followed his lead, the two of them drinking in silence until Dean spoke again. "Mom's in a coma."

Roman raised his eyebrows. "You actually asked?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"I made a few calls when you were getting ready for your match." Dean took off his shoes and socks before scooting forward so he could sit right on the edge of the dock and put his feet in the water.

"Why now?" Roman kept the question gentle as he scooted up as well. He kept his legs tucked in, not looking to get his feet wet. "What changed your mind?"

Dean shrugged, trying to play it off until Roman wouldn't stop looking at him. "You thought I should," was what he finally said.

"I know I did. But you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to. So why now?"

Another shrug. Roman tried to keep his expression neutral, knowing that this was hard for Dean. They didn't ever talk about his family. Dean always said that there was nothing to talk about, but Roman knew better. There was too much to talk about, and all of it was bad.

"I just...you thought I should." That was the reasoning Dean kept coming back to. "I thought I should be different. I'm kind of an asshole."

"You're not," Roman denied.

Dean rolled his eyes. "I am. Come on."

"No."

"Quit lying."

"I'm not."

Dean still didn't look convinced. "I'm not fucking good. Never have been." He rubbed his hand across his collarbone. "I don't fucking know how to be." He shrugged and rubbed at his collarbone harder. "Probably why I've never been able to hold on to people. Everyone's just fucking left. And like, I've always managed to just like, make myself move on." He let out a short, bitter laugh. "Maybe I didn't do so good with Seth, but I eventually managed." His hand stilled and he finally looked at Roman. "I don't want to drive you away too."

"I'm not going anywhere." Roman put his hand on Dean's shoulder and squeezed it. "I wouldn't. No matter what happens, I'm gonna be here."

"Even when Bray gets worse?"

Roman couldn't stop himself from scoffing at the question. "Worse? How can he get even worse?"

"He'll get really fucking bad when I break it off with him."

Roman was in the process of giving Dean that one when the full weight of his words sunk in. His heart skipped a beat inside his chest as his eyes widened. "When?"

Dean nodded.

"Really?"

"I...I can't lose you." Dean looked completely uncomfortable again, much like he always did when they ventured into the territory of his feelings. "I just...fuck. I mean, I feel shit for him. I wasn't lying with that. But I just...I know you said you wouldn't go anywhere, but I can't just not choose you. I...I just..." The words got caught on the tip of his tongue. He looked frustrated with himself and he let out a growl to go with it. "Fucking come 'ere."

Roman had barely gotten a chance to move before Dean was pulling him in for the kiss. Their lips smashed together almost painfully, but Roman could hardly bring himself to care. His mind was spinning, heart pounding as Dean straddled his lap. Dean was choosing him. He hadn't lost him to Wyatt like had been fearing. They were one step closer to getting to the life he had been thinking about more than ever: the two of them being able to fully be open and together and fucking being like they should be.

The kisses deepened as Dean's hips rocked into Roman's. Roman let his hands slip under Dean's shirt, loving how the heated flesh felt beneath his fingertips. He felt Dean's fingers unbuttoning his jeans, which was the only thing that made him break the kiss. "I don't got anything." His eyes zero in on Dean's kiss swollen lips. It was hard not to start kissing them all over again. "I didn't think to pack lube."

"Don't care," Dean said gruffly.

"Also don't want us getting splinters in our asses."

Dean did stop to actually consider that one. "Hotel?"

Roman nodded. "Drug store for lube, then hotel."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh jesus Ro. I can't wait that long."

"Your ass will thank me in the morning."

* * *

It seemed to take ages to get back to the hotel. Even with Roman doing the quickest run for lube that he possibly could, Dean felt ready to bust out of his own skin. He pulled Roman in for a kiss before they got into the hotel, not able to help himself. Roman accepted it happily, wrapping an arm around Dean's waist and pulled him in closer. They didn't look to see if the coast was clear. They didn't care to. They just kept kissing for a bit, too wrapped up in each other to care what was going on around them. The only reason they broke apart was to go inside and get the room, which was one that was right by the pool. They were probably going to get woken up by obnoxious children looking to swim in the morning, but they didn't care. They just went right back to kissing, their hands struggling to get rid of their clothes. Dean found himself naked first and being pushed back on to the bed. He pulled Roman down right on top of him, laughing as they nearly butted heads. His hands went right back to pulling on the older man's clothes, determined to not be the only one naked now.

"Here I can get it."

"Just let me -"

"Wait. Let me." Roman rolled off the bed and finished undressing himself. The wincing he was doing earlier didn't happen again. He was far too in the moment to feel any discomfort. He snagged the lube he had dropped in their struggles to get naked before coming back to the bed.

"Finally." Dean tried to pull him back in for a kiss, but Roman moved down lower instead. "The hell?"

Roman's only response was to start pressing kisses across his collarbone. He put the lube down on the spot next to Dean, leaving it there so he could run his hands over Dean's body. Dean shivered despite feeling like he was on fire. It was too much yet not enough at the same time. It didn't make any sense. He couldn't think long enough to make the sense out of it. All he could focus on was Roman, who was kissing his way lower and lower down his body. "Ro..." He didn't mean for his moan to sound so fucking helpless and needy. "Shit Ro...fuck." His fingers went into Roman's long, dark locks, tangling themselves in there while trying not to pull on them too hard. Roman always got so sensitive about his hair.

Roman's mouth slipped around his cock, his sucking light and the bobbing of his head nice and slow. He let Dean arch into his mouth, grey eyes filled with a smug twinkle at the noises Dean was making. He reached up and grabbed the lube again, squeezing a generous amount on his fingers before slowly sliding them inside Dean one by one.

"Fuuuuck!" Dean moved his fingers out of Roman's hair to grab the sheets below him instead. If he kept his hands where they had been he would have yanked out some hair, which was not what he wanted. He wasn't looking to have Roman stop for any reason.

Roman stared up at his face, clearly loving how fast he was getting wrecked. Dean kept eye contact with him for a moment before having to close his eyes. Dean kept eye contact with him for a moment before having to close his eyes. Looking was too much. He moaned as Roman's curved, brushing just right against his prostate. His cock twitched, Roman's tongue eagerly lapping up the precum from the slit. "Ro...fuck...fuck me." Dean had to start giving in to the begging. He wasn't going to last all that long tonight, and if he was going to cum, he wanted it to be with Roman inside of him.

Roman's mouth moved away first, followed immediately by his fingers. Dean opened his eyes and watched him coat his cock with lube, giving the length a couple of strokes before positioning himself between Dean's legs. Dean pulled him down for a kiss, moaning as Roman slowly slid inside.

"Fuck." Roman broke the kiss to speak, his lips still lingering close to Dean's. His movements stilled, waiting for Dean to give him the okay to move.

Dean reached up and traced his fingers against Roman's face. Their lips stayed almost touching, their breaths mingling together. The look in Roman's eyes was almost too much, but he couldn't look away now. Instead he locked his legs around Roman's waist, a silent bid for him to move.

Roman started slow, his lips reclaiming Dean's as he went. Dean kept his legs wrapped around Roman's waist, his hands eventually moving to his back. Blunt fingernails dug into smooth skin, not hard enough to actually leave marks yet. Dean's cock throbbed in between their bodies, begging to be touched. Dean didn't give into the need yet. He wanted to. God he felt so desperate for it. But he kept his hands on Roman's back, resisting the urge or now. He didn't want this to end. Not yet.

The speed of Roman's thrusts gradually grew. They didn't grow harder though. He was treating Dean with a gentleness that the younger man normally didn't allow. Normally Dean rallied against it, not knowing what to do with it. But this time he allowed it, Roman's name a constant murmur pouring past his lips. He dug his nails in deeper, leaving the marks against him now. His legs stayed locked around his waist, helping to keep them together.

Roman's lips moved all over his face, kissing every inch of it. His breathing was hitching, signaling he was close. His hand reached down between their bodies, wrapping around Dean's cock and stroking it. Dean moaned, his eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head as he came. Roman's release wasn't far behind his, and when his movements stilled he stayed on top of Dean, his head dropping down so he could bury his face into the crook of his neck. Dean smiled, his legs dropping from Roman's waist while his arms stayed locked around his body. They needed to get cleaned up. Maybe get some sleep. But for now that could wait. He was just fine like this.

* * *

His phone buzzing relentlessly was what woke Roman up the next day. He tried to ignore it at first. He was far too comfortable laying in bed with Dean, who was snuggled up against him. But the phone wouldn't stop, and he finally got too annoyed to keep ignoring it. He carefully slid out of bed and walked over to his jeans, which was where his phone still was. He took it out of the front pocket and checked his messages. Missed calls and texts from his wife, his mom, his cousins...he felt his stomach drop. His first thought was that someone had died. It was a terrible thought, but it was one he couldn't help. It wasn't until he opened the message he just got (which was from Jimmy) that he realized that wasn't it.

 **You fucked up.**

The message was simple yet quite confusing without any context. Roman decided to question him on it before looking at any of his other messages.

 **What do you mean?**

It didn't take long to get a reply.

 **Check TMZ.**

Roman felt suddenly certain that he didn't want to do that. Yet he went to the website anyway, tapping his foot as his phone took forever to bring it up. He scrolled through it, not having to look far for what he was going. Plastered right there for the world to see was a picture of him and Dean kissing in front of the hotel last night. His eyes widened, his phone nearly dropping out of his hand.

 _Oh shit._


	18. Chapter 18

Luke watched quietly as Bray paced back and forth in front of him. The other man had been in this state for awhile. The news of Dean being caught with Roman had spread fast; they hadn't even needed TMZ to hear about it. Dolph had brought it up to Erick (who had not ditched the not so bleached blond fool like Luke had told him to), and in turn, Erick had told Bray. Bray had been seething ever since. Luke didn't know why he was surprised. Dean and Roman were both nothing more than rats. They deserved each other. But Bray didn't want to see that. Bray had made himself blind to what Dean was. He didn't see that Dean was stringing him along for his own personal gain, and would drag it all out until Bray had nothing left to give before tossing him away like a piece of trash. Luke hadn't been willing to just stand by and keep watching that happen. He had done more than enough of that over the past few months. So he had followed Dean to Solomon's place, originally intending to find a way to get him alone and hurt him. But when Roman had shown his face, a different plan had formed in Luke's mind. He had found himself wanting to show the world what the two of them were. He had wanted to show Bray he was wasting his time on a man who was no better than his whore of a mother. So he had taken the picture of them outside their hotel and sent it in to TMZ, knowing that nobody in the world would suspect him. They didn't know he was back with Bray, and even if they did, they all thought of him as nothing more than a sheep. They thought he was a dumb solider that Bray used to use for all his whims. No, they would think it was a just a fan that had happened to catch them at the wrong time. They would think that maybe it was Seth, just twisting another knife in his former brothers' back. Some would even blame Bray. Nobody would even think to look at him.

Being mistaken as stupid and incapable of doing anything himself normally annoyed Luke, but there were times it came in handy.

Bray finally stopped pacing, but the fury was still shining through his eyes. Luke kept his silence, knowing Bray's mood was too foul to be contained for long. Despite his hopes to show Bray that Dean wasn't worth his time, he knew it would probably still be a fight to make him fully accept that. Bray was too stubborn for his own good. "We're on the show with them tomorrow." He said the words so quietly that Luke almost didn't even think he was talking to him. "I'll need you to distract the brute so I can get little lamb alone."

There were a whole host of comments on the tip of his tongue, but he decided to keep them to himself for now. The look in Bray's eyes meant that it was not the time to guide him to the real truth. That could come later. "Want me to hurt him?" was what he asked instead. "Or do you want me to save him for you?"

Bray's lips twitched. "Do only what you have to. I want to finish him off."

With the look in Bray's eyes, Luke could only imagine what kinds of hell he planned to unleash. It almost even made him feel bad for Roman.

Just almost.

* * *

The confrontation with his wife had gone about as badly as Roman could have imagined. She had screamed at him, tears of anger streaming down her face the whole time. How could he do this? Hadn't they been happy? When had he stopped being that way? How long had this been going on? The questions all came at once, and there were no answers that helped to ease the situation. In fact, each one he gave made it worse. Telling her how long it had been going on had been the final strong. She had just started cursing at him then, telling him to get out. She said that she never wanted to see him again. He hadn't been able to get any of his stuff. Jimmy or Jey would have to pick it up for him later. He had only gotten a brief glimpse of his daughter as he was being kicked out. Her eyes had been wide, emotions mixed between frightened and confused. He had wanted to go to her, but that hadn't been an option. A lamp had been thrown at his head when he hadn't started moving fast enough. He had to leave before he made things even worse.

Now he was back with Dean, the two of them camping out at Solomon's place. Solomon himself was gone. Whether he actually had something to do or had just been kicked out by Dean was something Roman didn't know. He hadn't cared enough to ask. They hadn't even really talked to each other since coming back here. Instead they were sitting together on the couch, each of them nursing a red plastic cup filled with whatever kind of whiskey Dean had managed to dig out of the cupboard. Drinking wasn't actually going to solve anything, but it was making his head spin just a little less. That was something he'd gladly take.

"Who the fuck even took that picture?" Dean finally broke the silence. Keeping it wasn't his style. It made him too nervous.

Roman shrugged. "Could have just been a fan. You know how they get."

Dean scowled. "Or it could have been Seth. Little asshole probably was chomping at the bit to fuck with us."

"I think Bray and I curbed his desire to even look at you funny." Roman took another drink, grimacing as the whiskey burned his throat on the way down. "You don't think uh...Bray would have..."

"Why the fuck would he send this shit to TMZ?" Dean switched his cup to his other hand so he could grab Roman's hand. "Like, if he just sent it to her then yeah, I'd say it's possible. But Bray hates tabloids and shit even more than I do. This don't smell like a him stunt."

Roman sighed, knowing Dean had a point. Bray Wyatt running to a tabloid was about as conceivable as pigs flying out of both their asses.

But still, Bray was the type to want to show the world what Roman had done...

Roman shook his head. It didn't matter who had done it. Bray, Seth, a random fan - the picture taker hadn't created this mess. He had done it. He had dug the hole he was in by building an entire house of lies. It was bound to come back and bite him in the ass one way or another. He shouldn't have let it come to this. He shouldn't have let himself be selfish and try to have it all. All he had done was make everything more fucked up for everyone.

Dean squeezed his hand tightly. Almost too tightly really. But Roman could tell he wasn't trying to do that on purpose. The squeeze was just supposed to be comforting. It still was really. It meant he hadn't driven Dean away with his bullshit. Dean was sticking with him through this, which was the only way he felt like he was going to get past the shit storm he had created.

"At least our house shows are together this weekend." Dean broke the silence once again. "We don't got to worry about going in alone and shit."

There was at least that. Roman laced his fingers with Dean's and gave his hand a squeeze of his own. "I don't want you telling him alone." The shift in the conversation was sudden, but he felt the urge to say it.

"What?" Dean frowned, needing a minute to catch on to what Roman meant. "Bray?"

"Yeah. I should be there."

Dean shook his head. "I think you being there will make him take it even less well than he's going to."

A fair point, but Roman wasn't giving up yet. "I don't want him to hurt you."

"He -"

"He attacked you to get your attention. He tried to crush your throat for breaking his chair."

"Her chair," Dean corrected.

"Whatever! It was a fucking chair! And then he nearly crippled you when he fucked up your knee."

"In a -"

"Dean!" Roman's sharp tone silenced the other man. "Stop. I don't give a shit what the fucking reasons were. The point is, I don't trust him not to hurt you. Especially not after you tell him." He knew he was right about this. Bray wasn't known for having a good temper. Dean breaking it off could easily be the thing that made him really snap.

"Christ Ro." Dean put his cup down on the floor and shifted around, swinging his leg over so he could straddle Roman's lap. "I appreciate the concern and shit, but I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself."

"I"m not saying you can't." Roman let his hands rest on Dean's waist, the intimacy of their position making his cock stir in his pants. "I know you can. I just...I just don't know how far he's going to go. And I don't want it to be you that we find out on." He brought up his hand, gently tracing his fingers across Dean's jaw. "I love you. I don't like the thought of you getting hurt."

An unreadable look flashed across Dean's face. Roman tried to decipher it, but Dean's lips on his left him completely distracted. He tried to pull back, wanting to continue the conversation. But Dean rolling his hips and grinding their groins together made the intention fly completely out of his mind.

They could always just pick this conversation back up later.

* * *

The reaction they got when they got backstage on Saturday was about what Dean expected. There were whispers and stares, all of them extremely hypocritical. Even without actually caring about all the shit that went on backstage, Dean damn well knew that none of them had the right to be as judgmental as they were being. But he didn't snarl out those words to anyone. There was no point. It wouldn't stop anyone. Instead he just ignored it, keeping his hand in Roman's. Roman was silent, having been getting it from his family via phone calls the entire ride there. Dean had wanted to intervene, not liking the look on the older man's face. The stares from the their co-workers wouldn't bother him; he was like Dean in that regard. But getting this shit from his family was another story. They were all important to him, whether they were his parents and siblings or distant cousins. Dean didn't fucking understand it, but he didn't need to. Roman was hurting and in return he felt his own heart aching.

They made a beeline for a locker room of their own, only stopping to check the lineup for the show. Roman's opponent looked like it had been Miz at one point, but that had been crossed out and replaced by Luke Harper's name instead. That was set to kick off the show. Dean's name was in the middle, attached to Sheamus for this go around. Bray's name was there too; he was facing Cena in the main event. That wasn't something that made them feel better. Even without fighting him, they knew a confrontation with him was inevitable.

"The fuck do you even think happened to Miz?" Roman asked as he changed into his ring gear. "Why am I all of a sudden fighting Harper?"

Dean shrugged. He was sitting on the bench, forcing down some chips he had gotten from the vending machine. He wasn't really hungry, but he couldn't go out and wrestle on a completely empty stomach. That always made him feel sick when he did it. "Maybe he broke a nail or something. He's pretty fucking prissy."

There was a brief smirk on Roman's end, but it didn't last long. "Just seems awfully convienent if you ask me. I'm suddenly facing Bray's former flunky and shit? Don't that seem fishy to you?"

"I'm more surprised that they just don't have you fighting Bray himself," Dean admitted.

"Think they really want to save that for Battleground. We might actually kill each other if we have a match before then."

"Good point." Dean let Roman finish getting ready before standing up and pulling him in for a kiss. It didn't matter what happened to Miz. Roman would have beat him like he was going to beat Harper. "We can get out of here after my match. Hit the next town and maybe get a drink. Sound good?"

Roman just nodded. "Yeah. Sounds good."

* * *

Having Luke take out Miz so he could replace him as Roman's opponent proved to be entirely unnecessary. The distraction that Bray planned to capitalize on to see Dean became moot the moment Dean found him. Bray would have been tickled by this, but he saw the look in Dean's eyes. Nervousness shone through them, matching how much he was fidgeting. Bray knew what he planned to say before a single word was uttered. It made his eyes narrow, a storm building right up inside of him. "You and your brute looked mighty cozy together." He had to speak before Dean started. If he started maybe he could keep Dean from saying the words he dreaded. "Tell me, how badly did that go over with the missus? Is she already filing those divorce papers?"

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Don't be fucking talking about them. That's not why I'm here."

"What about the little girl?" Bray kept on going, too stubborn to stop now. "Did she -"

"Bray!" Dean's words were sharp, his hands balling up into fists. "Seriously. Shut the fuck up about them."

"Why do you even care little lamb?" Bray stepped closer, his eyes moving up and down Dean's body. "You stole the brute away from them. I'm sure you defending them is the last thing they want."

Dean flinched just a bit, but then shrugged it off. "It's over." He said it suddenly, knowing Bray would just keep changing the subject if he didn't spit it out. "Me and you. We're done."

That was exactly what Bray had expected, but it didn't make it any easier to hear. "Why? Because he swears he really loves you now? Because you want to try to get some happily ever after with him?" He let out a short, bitter laugh. "How long do you think this will really last little lamb? You really think that he won't get tired of you and cast you aside as well?"

Dean flinched again, this time unable to mask it. That had always been one of his fears. So many people had cast him aside that he had learned to expect it.

"You know that he doesn't love you like I love you." Bray stepped closer, getting within grabbing distance of Dean. "Nobody will ever love you like I do."

"Bray -"

"What exactly makes him so special?" Bray couldn't stop the question from flying out of his mouth. He was all too aware of how bitter he sounded, but it was hard to care. Not when Roman was getting Dean without actually deserving him. "He used you as his whore for months -"

"That wasn't how it was. I've fucking told you -"

" - but you still can't see the truth." Bray shook his head and sneered. "Are you that addicted to the pain he'll inevitably cause you? Or did you actually like being his little whore? I know the apple never falls far from the tree."

Blue eyes blazed and a fist came swinging his way. Bray let it connect, liking the sharp sting as his lip split on contact. "Fuck you." The words were a snarl, his fury shining even more brightly through. "Is that your fucking grand plan to get me to stay? Fucking make me feel like a piece of shit that could only ever be loved by you? Because that's fucked up Bray. That's fucking sick."

"Or maybe it's the truth." Bray did close the distance between them now, grabbing Dean by the arms so he couldn't just get away. "There's parts of you that you've hidden from him. Parts that he'll never understand. How long do you think you can go without anyone to turn to? How long after you show them to him do you think he'll really last?"

"Stop it." Dean tried to pull himself out of Bray's grasp. "Fucking asshole. Let go of me."

"Tell me I'm wrong," Bray demanded. He knew he was right. He fucking knew he was. "Just tell me that I'm wrong."

"You're a fucking asshole. Just let me go."

"What if I don't want to?" Bray was pushing too much, but that was just his nature. "You know you're the only one I want little lamb. Why should I let you go?"

"Because we're done." Dean tried to yank himself free, his breathing getting quicker as Bray kept his grip tight. "Bray seriously -"

Bray smashed their lips together, the kiss as harsh as it was short. It wasn't really returned, but Bray didn't let that bother him. He broke it on his own terms, reluctantly letting Dean go as he did so. He expected another punch to land on his face, but surprisingly it didn't. Dean just bailed, the door slamming shut behind him. Bray closed his eyes, resisting the urge to chase after him. He couldn't do it now. Dean was too caught up in Roman to listen to him. But this wasn't over. Him and Dean, his war with Roman over him - none of it was over. Not if he had anything to say about it.


	19. Chapter 19

"I can't even believe you. How could you do this?"

Roman winced at Naomi's tone. He and Dean had arrived at Raw, meaning he couldn't avoid a face to face encounter with her or Jimmy anymore. He had tried to at least pull them into a locker room, wanting this done with some sort of privacy. Naomi hadn't felt like listening. They were standing right in one of the arena hallways, earning second looks from everyone that happened to come by. Dean was over by the vending machine, just staring at what was in there. Naomi had looked ready to lay into him too, and Roman had sent him over there. He had been withdrawn since admitting to Roman he had gone and broken things off with Bray on his own. Roman had almost fought with him about it, but something in Dean's eyes had kept him from doing it. Bray had either said or done something during that confrontation that had left Dean upset. He hadn't been able to get the full story yet, but he would. He wouldn't stop until he did.

"Hey!" Naomi snapped his fingers in front of Roman's face to get his attention. "I'm talking to you!"

Roman shook his head, stealing a glance at Jimmy. The other man hadn't been saying much. Roman could tell he wanted to. He could see it in his eyes. But there was nothing he could say without giving away he had known about all of this happening. And he wouldn't give that away. Not with the mood Naomi was in. "What do you want me to say?" Roman shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I know I did this all fucking shitty. I know I should have broken things off with her once I realized I was falling for Dean. You don't have to tell me I'm a shitty person. I fucking already know that one."

She narrowed her eyes, not really impressed by his words. Roman couldn't blame her. There was nothing impressive with what he was saying. Realizing that he shouldn't have handled things like an absolute jackass after the shit had hit the fan wasn't that great of a thing.

"Where are you going to stay at?" Jimmy decided to speak up now, steering the subject in a slightly different direction. "We heard her telling Aunt Patti that she kicked you out."

"Between all her sobs," Naomi threw in, folding her arms over her chest and leveling Roman with a completely disgusted look.

Roman tried to ignore Naomi in favor of just answering the question. "Dean said I could crash with him." He glanced back over at the younger man, who was still keeping his distance. Roman felt very certain he was listening to anything he could hear though. "I want to try calling and talking to Jo again. Nobody answered last time."

Jimmy and Naomi both tensed up. "Galina's getting herself a lawyer man," Jimmy said. "I'm not sure how much she's going to cooperate with you on this front."

Roman bit down on his lower lip. He didn't find himself surprised by the words, even if they made his heart sink in his chest. The last thing he wanted was a big custody war. He had seen other cousins of his go through that, and it had taken an even bigger toll on their kids than it had them.

"Let her cool off more man," Jimmy suggested. "Maybe you'll have some luck if you do."

Roman felt like that was doubtful, but he still nodded anyway.

Jimmy had a match on Superstars to get ready for, cutting their conversation short. Roman watched them go, waiting until they were out of sight before going over to join Dean. "You get anything?" he asked, pointing towards the vending machine.

"Yeah." Dean held up a bag of peanut M&M's and shook it around. "I didn't get you anything though. Didn't take enough out of your wallet earlier."

Roman rolled his eyes. He shouldn't have expected anything else. "Thank god I never mind paying." He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He wasn't all that hungry, but he could get himself something for later.

Dean let out a noise that was supposed to be a laugh. It died out quickly, which worried Roman all the more. He couldn't let this be bottled up more than it already was. "What the fuck did he say to you?"

Dean twitched. "Nothing." He shuffled his feet, eyes darting around so they were looking at everywhere but Roman. "He didn't say shit."

"Don't lie to me man. Please." Roman stuck a dollar into the machine and bought a bag of chips. He grabbed them with one hand before putting his wallet back in his pocket and turning back to face Dean. "I know he fucked with your head."

Dean shifted around uncomfortably. "It doesn't fucking matter. We got more important things to worry about."

Roman knew he was referencing the street fight they had against Seth and Kane later, but he didn't care. That didn't feel anywhere near as important as this. He grabbed Dean by the hand and dragged him back to the locker room they had snagged for themselves. If this wasn't going to be done easily, he wanted to make sure they were alone. He didn't want people coming by and sticking their nose in it.

"Ro come on." Dean pulled his hand out of Roman's grip as the door shut behind them. "It's fucking nothing. He just wanted to fuck with my head."

"I'm sure he fucking did. But I gotta know."

Dean groaned loudly. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? It's bothering you. It has been this whole time." Roman gave Dean a pleading look. "Don't shut me out. Just tell me. Please."

Dean groaned and rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Fucking christ..." He dropped his hands back down and heaved out a sigh. "You wanna know? Fine. Where do you want me to start?" He started twitching, his fists balling up at his sides. "Him asking how long I thought I had before you got tired of me too? Where he said nobody would ever love me the way he does yet he still basically called me a whore just like my fucking mother? Or how about him asking me how long it'll be before I'm the one driving you away?"

Roman swallowed hard, making a mental note to go out of his way and punch Bray as hard as he possibly could the next time he saw him. "You know none of that shit's true, right?" Even with Dean saying that Bray said it to get in his head, Roman could still sense the insecurity in him. He always tried to bury it down, but if one knew how to find it, it was all too easy to exploit.

"I fucking said that didn't I?" Dean threw his bag of candy over towards his bag and rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe he wasn't totally lying. Maybe he didn't believe all of that. But it was obvious some of it had hit a nerve and was staying there, raising doubts that were plaguing him like a truth. "I'm getting over it, alright? Don't worry about me. It's my own fault for forgetting how he could be and giving him this fucking ammunition."

Roman certainly wasn't going to just forget about it. He didn't ever just forget about this shit. But he backed off for now, knowing too well how defensive and snappy Dean would get if he kept pushing. So instead he pulled him in for a kiss, hoping that would say everything for him.

Judging from the way he was kissed back, the message was received and at least appreciated.

* * *

 _"My Roman Reigns..."_

Those words kept repeating themselves in Bray's brain. He had been watching the monitor when the cameras had caught up with Dean and Roman backstage. Dean had been trying to rile Roman up for their tag match, and it seemed to have worked. The brute looked ready to take on the entire world. Dean had seemed quite pleased with himself, and all Bray could do was seethe.

 _"I like my Roman Reigns angry. I like my Roman Reigns upset."_

The words were like pure poison to Bray's soul. He hated them. He hated them just as much as he hated Roman himself. Men like Roman were given everything in this world. And what they weren't just given they were allowed to just freely take. And now he had taken Dean, and Bray was sick over it.

 _"My Roman Reigns."_

Bray scowled. He was nearly as angry at Dean as he was at Roman. Dean had sunk his claws in without meaning to, making himself matter more to him than almost anyone else in his life had ever done. The only exception was Abigail, but his love for her had been different. He had cherished her like a mother. This was different. He felt like he couldn't breathe now. There was an ache in his chest that wouldn't leave him alone, no matter how much he tried to make it. He felt like he was missing a part of himself.

Dean had made him weak. That fact was infuriating all in itself. But how little Bray found himself really caring about that was even worse.

He growled to himself as he slipped out of the room and went down the hallway. Dean and Roman's match was coming up next. He hadn't planned on getting involved, but now he couldn't think to stay away. He had to go out there. He had to do something nasty and violent. The monster that lived in him begged for blood, and he wouldn't even begin to deny it of that.

* * *

It didn't surprise Dean when Bray interfered with their match. With the way things had ended up, he was surprised Bray hadn't struck sooner than that. He had gone after Roman of course, unleashing all of his rage and leaving him laying outside the ring. Dean had wanted to go after him. He had wanted to do something to protect Roman. But Bray had struck when he couldn't, and was gone by the time Dean was up. That left him to try to fight Seth and Kane on his own, which was a fight he ultimately lost. And then while he was down, Bray slithered back in and attacked Roman again. Dean hadn't seen it, but he had heard Michael Cole carrying on about it as he laid in a hurt daze. He had felt completely sick over it. This was his fault. Objectively speaking, he knew he couldn't control Bray's actions. Nobody could. But even with that in mind, Dean couldn't help the guilt. He knew he was the reason Bray had done it. Nothing Roman could try to say would convince him otherwise.

As it was, Roman wasn't currently saying all that much. They had made their way backstage, Dean helping Roman towards the trainer's room. He was the only one the larger man hadn't shoved away. He had silently cursed Roman's stubbornness, only holding back from doing it out loud because he knew how much of a hypocrite that would make him.

"Don't fucking need to go," Roman muttered. He wasn't fighting it as hard as Dean would if he was in this position, but he still looked less than thrilled with their intended destination.

"Bullshit." Dean readjusted his grip on Roman, trying to be careful so he didn't hurt his ribs. He wasn't good at being gentle. It felt completely unnatural to him. But he had to try for Roman. He deserved that.

"I just want to get out of here." Roman gave Dean a pleading look. "Can we just go? Please?"

Dean didn't get a chance to answer that. The sound of footsteps behind them was just reaching his ears when someone barreled right into their backs, sending them straight down to the floor. Dean cursed, rolling with the momentum so he could get himself up to his knees faster. His eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing. Bray was at it again, kneeling over Roman and relentlessly pummeling with his fists. "Bray! Stop it!"

The words had no effect whatsoever. Bray kept up the assault, leaving Roman to try to defend himself. His efforts didn't get him very hard. He was too tired and beat up to do more than weakly put his arms up.

"BRAY!" Dean pushed himself up to his feet, launching himself into the fray. He grabbed on to Bray's shirt, using all of his strength to pull Bray off Roman. "Bray! Stop! Fucking stop!"

Bray snarled and turned, shoving him away with both hands. Dean lost his grip and his balance, falling back to the floor ass first. He winced at the landing, but didn't let himself dwell on it for long. He pushed himself back up and went at Bray again. He didn't bother with just pulling him away this time. He just balled up his fists and started throwing punches of his own, hoping he could make Bray's attention willingly go to him.

"Hey hey hey!" Someone else's voice rose above all the chaos. Dean thought it sounded like Billy Gunn's, but he was too distracted to tell for sure. "Knock it the hell off!"

The order went completely ignored. Bray did turn to face Dean now, his eyes blazing with a fury that was actually fucking scary. "Look at your Roman Reigns now!" The words were mostly a growl, tinged with just a bit of maniacal laughter. "Do you still like your Roman Reigns now little lamb?" The trace of laughter disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving only the fury. He went for Roman again, managing to kick him in the back before Dean could yank him away once again.

"Leave him alone god damn it!" Dean slipped himself between Bray and Roman, shoving the former back to stand protectively over the latter. He kept himself tense, hoping Bray's fury would fully switch to him. He would rather be the one to take it. Roman didn't deserve it. He was the one who had driven Bray to this point. He could take these consequences.

Agents and referees swarmed them, most of them going to Bray to help push him back. Some stayed by Dean, urging him to calm down. He cussed at them, pushing them out of the way so he had more room to kneel down beside Roman. "Ro?" He cast a look back to make sure Bray wasn't breaking free before focusing his full attention back to his fallen boyfriend. "Roman!" He winced as Roman just groaned, his face contorted with pain. "Fuck fuck fuck!" He glared at the refs who were just looking at him with stupid expressions on their faces. "Well just don't fucking stand there!" He felt like strangling them. He was going to wrap his hands around their throats and choke them to death and not feel the least bit bad about it. "Fucking help me get him up!"

They moved quickly at that, helping Dean ease Roman to his feet as he barked out a litany of curse filled orders. Roman groaned, mumbling something under his breath that Dean didn't quite catch. He didn't even try to object to the trip to the trainer's room now. Dean wanted to feel relieved by that, but he couldn't. The guilty feeling in his chest was too busy crushing him. He took another glance back, shivering as the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He couldn't see Bray, but he swore he could still feel his eyes on him. This wasn't over. It was a terrible and obvious realization, but it was there, gnawing away at him.

"Easy easy easy." He pushed the thoughts aside as they finally got Roman to the room. They put him up on the table that was there, one of the refs filling in the doctor about what had happened. Dean ran a hand over Roman's hair, wincing as Roman let out a low groan of pain.

"Fucking bastard." Roman kept a hand on his ribs while using the other to wipe away the blood on his mouth. His nose was bleeding as well, and he had quite a collection of bruises forming over his face.

"Jesus fucking christ." Dean ran his hand over Roman's hair again, the urge to get sick rising inside of him. "Ro..."

"I'm fine," Roman rasped out. He moved Dean's hand away from his head and gave it a squeeze. "I'll be fine."

Dean just eyed him, shuffling a bit to the side so the doctor could have more room. He knew Roman always just said that, no matter how he felt. He was the exact same way himself, so that shit didn't fool him. And knowing that made him feel even more guilty. He tried to brush it off, knowing it needed to be placed only on Bray. But knowing and feeling had always been too extremely different things for him. And as the doctor tended to Roman, bandaging up bruised ribs and wiping away the blood on his face, the guilt cemented itself into Dean's entire being, staying with him even after they left and were heading to the next town.


	20. Chapter 20

The feeling of an elbow to his ribs pulled Roman out of his slumber. He let out a loud groan as he opened his eyes, cursing both at the sun that was pouring in through the windows, and at the feeling of getting elbowed once again. He struggled to sit up, his head turning to look at Dean. The younger man had a pained look on his face. Another nightmare. "Oh fuck." He grabbed a hold of Dean's arms in hopes to stop the thrashing before it got even worse. It had been awhile since he had seen this happen so many nights in a row. "Dean?" He tried to keep his voice gentle, wanting to just ease the blond awake.

Dean grunted, face contorting as he tried to jerk out of Roman's grip. His eyes were still closed, his mind trapped in whatever he was dreaming.

"Dean!" Roman shook him gently, swallowing hard as Dean started to whimper. "Dean, babe, come on. Come back to me."

There was a strangled cry, but Dean's eyes finally opened. He stiffened in Roman's grasp, blue eyes wide as he tried to regain his bearings. Roman held on to him the whole time, not satisfied until the panic left his eyes and his body actually relaxed. "You okay?"

Dean nodded, quickly looking away from Roman as his cheeks started to turn pink. He always got embarrassed when this happened. Roman had told him a million times that he didn't need to be. But he was all the same, and he quickly wiggled out of Roman's arms and rolled off the bed.

"What was it about?" The question came out before Roman could think to stop it. He knew it generally wasn't a good idea to ask. Dean never liked to talk about it. But Roman felt himself needing to ask. He didn't like that Dean bottled this shit up. It didn't seem healthy.

"Nothing." Dean was quick with the denial. Too quick to be remotely believable. He seemed to realize that, because he shook his head and amended his statement. "Nothing important."

"Dean -"

"Ro it's fine. Just drop it." Dean walked over to his dresser and pulled a pair of boxers out from the top drawer. "You want breakfast?" He slipped the boxers on, snapping the elastic of the waistband against his skin in the process. "There's a diner just down the street. Or we could make something here. I bought stuff for pancakes and bacon when we stopped at the store last night."

"I'm assuming I'd be cooking then, right?" Roman didn't really want to get up, but he wasn't going to argue. "I'm not looking to set this whole place on fire man."

"Oh fuuuck you." Dean flipped him off before stomping towards the door. "I don't always cause fires you fuck."

That was probably true, but it had happened way too often to just be brushed off. "You're not even going to put a shirt on? What if you like, burn your chest or some shit?"

Dean cast a look back at him to flip him off again before disappearing down the hall completely. Roman laid in bed for a few more minutes, stretching and letting himself slowly slip into feeling more awake. Being here felt so surreal. The chaos that came from being outed had left his head spinning so much that the peace that came with retreating to Vegas with Dean didn't feel real. It felt like another dream he was going to wake up from. He tried to shake it off as he got up. It wasn't a dream. They were here, and he needed to just enjoy the peace. With Bray on a rampage, and the drama that would come with his family, he needed to just enjoy the peace while it lasted.

Roman rolled out of bed and went over to his suitcase. Jimmy was going to be getting the rest of the stuff from his house, but until then, he would be living out of what he had now. He put on the last clean tank top he had and a pair of gym shorts before going to the kitchen. Dean had already gotten the stuff for the pancake mix out, and was getting the bacon when Roman entered the room. "If you want eggs you're out of luck," he said as he closed the refrigerator door with his hip. "I forgot to grab those."

"It's alright. I don't need them." Roman waited until Dean walked over to the counter before slipping up behind him, his arm snaking around his waist. "Want my help?"

"Nope." Dean made a half-hearted attempt to wiggle out of his grip before sighing and turning his attention to making the pancake batter.

"You sure?" Roman started placing soft kisses against Dean's shoulder, smirking at the little sound that came out of the younger man's mouth.

"I got a point to prove," Dean said stubbornly. "Fucking going to make us a mother fucking breakfast and not start a fucking fire when I do it. And then you get to suck my mother fucking dick."

Roman chuckled. "You say that like it's supposed to be a punishment."

"It would be if you weren't so greedy for my dick." Dean tried to keep his focus on what he was doing, but as Roman started kissing his neck, he abandoned his idea and turned himself around so they were face to face. "Breakfast mother fucker." He tapped a hand against Roman's cheek. "We're supposed to be having some fucking breakfast."

"I know I know." Despite his own words, Roman slipped his other arm around Dean's body, pulling him in so their bodies were completely pressed together.

"You're completely not helping." Dean tried to sound irriated, but it faded away as he studied Roman's face. His fingers started tracing the bruises that were still there from Wyatt's last attack. Roman had tried to tell him not to worry so much about them. He was sore, but he had endured worse. The words hadn't been doing much to soothe Dean though. He was clearly feeling guilty, despite having to know that it wasn't his fault.

"Breakfast." Roman placed a chaste kiss on Dean's lips before reluctantly letting him go. "You make that and I'll get the coffee started."

"Just the coffee?" Dean snorted loudly. "Lazy ass."

Roman rolled his eyes. "I'll set the table too."

Dean gave a short nod as he turned around. "Damn right you will."

* * *

"You know he'll beat you if you don't get out of your own head."

Bray gave no outward reaction to Luke's words. Instead he kept his face expressionless as he continued rocking in his chair. Pummeling Roman on Monday had made him feel better, but it hadn't lasted. Not when he knew that the brute had gone home with Dean. The thought of it was enough to make him want to get sick. It had taken every ounce of self-control he had to not follow them to Vegas and pull something else. He knew that after what he did at Raw, Dean would just reject his presence. He had to bid a little time and at least let the anger from that wear off.

"Roman's still dangerous in the ring." Luke spoke again, not being deterred by Bray's silence. "You'll never win a war against him sulking like this."

"I'm not sulking," Bray snapped. He got up out of his chair and started pacing across the porch. They had come back to the compound, Luke shacking up right back in his old room. It felt like he had never left in the first place.

Luke didn't look like he believed him. There was no reason that he really should. "You shouldn't waste your time over someone who wasn't grateful enough to have you in the first place. Forget him. Win your war against Roman and move on. There's more important things to worry about."

"Without Dean I've already lost." Bray ignored that very last bit. Maybe Luke was right on that front, but Bray couldn't really bring himself to care.

Luke stayed silent for awhile, just watching Bray pace back and forth like a caged animal. "You love him," was what he finally said.

Bray rolled his eyes, a surge of irritation blasting through him. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You're better off without him."

Bray didn't believe that one. Couldn't. Not with the way he felt now. He felt twisted up inside, his heart aching because what if he didn't get Dean back? What if Roman won for good? He didn't want to swallow down that pill. He couldn't do it. He wanted Dean back. That was the only thing that was going to make him feel better.

Luke looked like he wanted to say more, but the look Bray gave him kept him silent. It wasn't something that would last. Bray could tell that by just looking at him. But he was spared of that for now. Luke went back inside the house, leaving him to sit back down in his chair. He gripped the arms of it as he started to rock in it once more. He hadn't ever thought about getting in this deep and coming out with nothing. He wasn't the one who hid Dean away like a dirty secret. He had loved Dean openly, but maybe that had been his mistake. Dean wasn't the type to know what to do with that. He either loved what he couldn't have at all, or loved what would ultimately hurt him in the end. And Roman would do that. Despite the uncertainty creeping up in his mind, he still felt sure of that. It was just a matter of when it would happen.

And once it did, he would be right there, ready to pick up the pieces.

* * *

Dean groaned as the blast of air conditioning in his car finally hit him. Roman had gone to the gym a little while after breakfast, and he had elected to go running in the desert instead. When he had first started out in the business he had valued the gym, and when he had been in the Shield he had let Seth and Roman drag him to whatever one they wanted. Not anymore though. He would rather just do his training out here, where there wasn't another soul around him for miles. Out here he could really breathe. The only downside to it was the heat. He had pushed himself into ignoring it while he had been active, but now that he was sitting, he was becoming all too aware that being drenched in sweat was the least of his issues. He felt weak and shaky, nearly at the point where he wanted to pass out.

"Fuck." He grabbed the little cooler from the passenger seat and took out the extra bottle of water he had left in there. He chugged half of it on the spot, not caring that it would probably make his stomach hurt after. "Fuck." He rested his head back against the seat, taking several deep breaths as he kept the bottle in his hand. The shaky feeling hadn't completely left him yet, but he seemed to be getting past the point of passing out.

He drank the rest of the water before throwing the empty bottle back in the cooler and digging his keys out of his pocket. He needed to get back. He hadn't been keeping track of the time, but he knew he had been gone for quite awhile. He had left his phone in the car, completely forgetting about the fact that it was sitting in his cup holder yet again. If he had a bunch of missed calls from Roman he was going to get his ass chewed out again. Roman hated him going to the desert alone, and he really hated it when he didn't have his phone on him. He was convinced that Dean would get hurt while he was hiking and would be stuck without a way for anyone to find him. Dean always rolled his eyes at that, but that didn't stop Roman from worrying.

Dean leaned forward and tried to not look at the radio as he fiddled with it. Commercial...commercial...a rap song by a guy whose name he had forgotten...Taylor Swift...Papa Roach, which impressed him because he didn't even know they still existed...finally he found a country station and just settled on that. He hummed along to the tune, his fingers tapping the beat against the steering wheel. He thought about checking his phone to see if he did have any missed calls or texts, but decided against it. After Seth nearly killed them all by texting and driving during a trip up to Green Bay, he had vowed to never be that stupid.

He made a quick stop at a gas station once he was back in the city, going inside to buy a bottle of Gatorade for himself and one of those bottles of Starbucks iced coffee that Roman loved so much. Dean had no idea what the appeal of it was, but whatever. He supposed that he didn't mean to.

He did check his phone before pulling out of the station, shooting a quick reply to Roman's question of his whereabouts that he was almost home. He didn't get a reply back during the drive, but it wasn't something he thought much of. Not until he was right outside the door of his apartment, opening the door to the sound of Roman arguing with someone on the phone.

"I just want to talk to her." Roman's voice carried from the kitchen, where Dean could just see him pacing around wildly. "That's all." He ran his free hand over his hair, his face twisting with his distress. "Don't. Don't say that shit to me. I fucking love her. I just want to make sure she knows I never fucking did this to hurt her."

Dean stayed frozen to the spot, forcing himself to swallow down the uncomfortable lump in his throat. It felt wrong listening to this. His brain tried to tell him to turn around and clear out of the apartment completely, but he didn't. His feet did at least obey his command to move in general, carrying him to the bedroom. He shut the door quietly, wincing as the arguing got louder. A familiar and unpleasant sense of deja vu hit him. For a brief moment, he felt like he was transplanted back to the bedroom of the shitty apartment he had grown up in. He used to have to hide out in there as well, not wanting to be in the path of his mother and whatever boyfriend she had been arguing with. Getting in the way meant getting a black eye or a bloody nose - and that was if he was lucky.

He shook his head, cursing at himself for even letting that shit into his brain. It was bad enough that he still had nightmares about some of it; he didn't need to think about it when he was awake too. He put the drinks down on the bedside table and hopped on to the bed, snagging the remote so he could turn on the TV. He put the volume up loud enough to drown out the sound of Roman's voice before he started flipping through the channels. He quickly settled for some shit on the Syfy channel, finding that the terrible special effects and shitty acting were actually quite distracting.

He got through nearly an hour of the movie before Roman finally joined him. He looked like he had gone through the absolute ringer, but Dean could tell that he was trying to hide it as he crawled on to the bed with him. "What are we watching?" His voice was so raspy from yelling he had to stop and clear his throat before speaking again. "Killer crocodiles? Sharknado?"

"Killer locusts movie," Dean replied. He pointed to the drinks that were on the table. "Hand me my Gatorade and take your coffee."

Roman frowned until he actually looked and saw what Dean had gotten. The frown turned into a small smile as he grabbed both drinks. "You shouldn't have." He handed Dean his before wrinkling his nose. "You probably should have showered though."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying I smell?"

"Yeah. Definitely am."

Dean elbowed him in the ribs. "Well fuck you mother fucker. I think I smell like roses." He thought no such thing, but he was honestly just too lazy to get up and shower. Instead he snuggled up to Roman, letting his head rest against his shoulder. Roman didn't put up a fight about it. Instead his arm went around Dean, letting him rest right up on him despite his accusation of stinking.

"So um...Mom's going to have Jo next week," Roman said after a small stretch of silence. "Galina has some sort of trip planned with her sister. We're pretty sure that's still on and uh, Mom says if we stay with her then I can see her."

Dean frowned. "We?"

"Well..." Roman winced a bit, suddenly shuffling around his words now. "She mostly talked about me, but uh, I said we and she didn't really yell at me for it."

Dean swallowed hard. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sure he was happy for Roman, but it didn't feel like he should go. That wasn't his place, especially with the kid being there. "Does she know that uh...you and I..."

"She don't know it's you," Roman said. "They didn't tell her. They told her that Mommy and Daddy had a fight, Daddy's been doing some um...bad stuff on the road, and that we have to separate." He bit down on his lower lip and looked down at his lap. He was struggling to keep it together, and now Dean couldn't think of telling him that he wouldn't go. Maybe it wasn't his place, but Roman clearly needed him to come along for support. The least he could do was bite the bullet and try to give it.

"Okay." Dean nodded as he spoke, watching the way Roman looked up at him in relief. "I'll go. But if your mom tries to kill my ass, I'm fucking bailing. Fucking ain't a force in this fucking universe that's fucking fighting her."

Roman smirked. "Dean Ambrose, scared of my mother. Who would have thought?"

"Oh like you don't run for the hills when she even starts to give you a look."

"I do not!"

Dean just glared at him.

Roman sighed in defeat. "Shut up." He took a drink of his coffee and pointed to the TV. "Just watch the damn movie."

Dean smirked before kissing Roman on the cheek and doing just that.


	21. Chapter 21

"Bo? Really? Is that all they got for you little lamb?"

Dean groaned. He should have known that his attempts to completely avoid Bray wouldn't last He was lucky he had even managed it until Smackdown. This was his own fault though. He should have known better than to go out by the production trucks alone. But he hadn't given much thought to that at the time. He had just really wanted to go out and get some air. Frustration had gotten the best of him. Bray's words had been his own thoughts this whole week. While punching the little twerp in the face was fun, it wasn't worth doing for two separate matches. He had wanted to face Kane actually. He had tried to poke and prod the Director of Operations into facing him, wanting to draw the monster back out of the man because watching him be Seth's lap dog was just so pathetic. But with the threat of Brock Lesnar looming so ominously over Seth's head, Kane was too wrapped up in trying to keep him in one piece. So Dean got pushed down to fighting Dallas, and he knew full well the Authority would love to see him stay down at that level. Not only would it keep him out of their way, but he knew damn well what they thought of him. He knew they didn't believe he deserved better.

Bray sat down next to him, taking advantage of the opportunity to stay swooped in. "You can't let them lock you up in a cage little lamb. You might not ever get yourself out of it if they lock it up too tightly."

"I figured that one out by myself, thanks." Dean scooted over a bit, keeping his palms braced against the ground just in case he needed to quick get up and bail. "Why are you even out here?" Almost immediately after asking he cut Bray off, having a feeling about what he was going to say. "And don't insist it's to discuss the state of my career. I fucking know that shit ain't true."

"How can you be so sure?" Bray eyed his stance, seemingly ready to grab Dean if he tried to bail too soon. "It's actually gotten me some time with you hasn't it?"

Dean shook his head. "Don't."

"Don't what little lamb?"

"Don't pretend that's some innocent shit or whatever. I know you better than that." Dean pressed his fingertips harder into the ground, not caring about the cement hurting them. "You want to say some shit against Roman and make me doubt him and shit."

"I only ever seek to tell you the truth."

"No, you say the shit that gets me to stay with you. And it's not working this time." Dean did get up now, swallowing hard when Bray got up right after him. "I lo -" The word got stuck in his throat, and he had to shake his head and change them. "I chose Roman. I know you hate it. I know I like, fucking hurt you and shit. If you want to fucking take it out on me then do it. I fucking deserve it. But it's not going to change anything." He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the fact that he was bothered by the quick flash of pain in Bray's eyes. He didn't want any sort of lingering feelings there. He had picked Roman. He knew what he felt for Roman was stronger. He didn't need to complicate anything by having unnecessary residual feelings for Bray. Especially not after the shit he had been pulling. "Just...I can't. I gotta go."

Bray didn't stop Dean from bailing, but Dean certainly felt his gaze following him as he went. He tried to push the conversation out of his head, but when Bray hit the ring to attack Roman yet again during a match, it came roaring back, leaving him feeling sick with guilt.

* * *

"God I feel like I could use a smoke."

Roman bit back the usual lecture that would have came with that kind of declaration, knowing that Dean really, really didn't need to hear it right now. It was finally the day they were going to his parents' house so he could see his daughter. He felt more than a little nervous himself; he knew he was going to have to have a big talk with her about the impending divorce and had no idea how to even go about that. But he was at least managing to keep up a composed façade. Dean had been turning into a more openly nervous wreck the closer they got to the house.

"Seriously, can we stop at a gas station or something?" Dean dug his nails into the fabric of his jeans, scratching at his leg as it bounced. "I fucking really need those cigarettes."

"No you don't man." Not starting the lecture didn't mean he would just give it to him. That was the last thing Dean needed to start doing again.

"Come the fuck on Ro. One won't hurt."

"You know that shit ain't true." Roman saw the look Dean was giving him, but he still shook his head, definitely not budging on this. "You'll get cancer and die you idiot."

"That's only like, the worst case scenario."

"You'll also won't be able to breathe right when you wrestle."

Dean rolled his eyes and muttered something Roman couldn't quite understand. The lack of any real argument told Roman he had won this round. He enjoyed the victory only briefly. Dean's leg started bouncing even faster, not really even stopping as Roman reached over and put a hand on it.

"It's going to be fine." Roman didn't feel like the words were going to have much effect, but he had to try anyway. "This is my thing. I'll handle the messy stuff and you just relax. Jo's been asking to see her Uncle Dean anyway."

A ghost of a smile crossed Dean's lips, but that faded all too quickly. "Till she finds out Uncle Dean is why you and her mom broke up."

"We're not going to tell her. We've been over this."

"You guys probably won't even have to tell her. It's all over the fucking place." Dean took his hand off his leg to start rubbing it across his collarbone instead. "Her friends could tell her. Hell, she could look it up herself on the god damn internet." He gave Roman a serious look. "Seriously man. You have to let go of this idea that you can control what people can find out. The shit doesn't fucking work."

Roman had no argument to that one. "I know alright? But she's seven. I don't think her friends even know what shit like TMZ even is. Unless her mom spills the beans, I can find a way to gently tell her I fell in love with you instead of her mom."

Dean made a face. "Dude, I don't think there's an actually a good way to say that shit."

"Well...no." Roman cringed as he imagined the ways it could go wrong.

"Maybe we should bring peace offerings." Dean jerked his thumb back towards the turn they just missed. "There's a toy store back that way."

That there was. It was also completely out of the way, but Roman didn't really care about that. He took a quick glance back to make sure the coast was clear before doing a complete U-turn right there in the middle of the road.

"Jesus!" Dean whipped his head around, not relaxing until he realized they weren't going to be hit by oncoming traffic. "You mother fucker. Don't you fucking ever talk about me being fucking reckless on the road ever again."

Roman grinned. "Oh come. You know you're worse than me."

"Bullshit I am! Fucking never been worse than you at anything."

Roman knew that one was more than a little debatable, but he kept his comments to himself. He'd save that argument for another day.

* * *

"Roman Joseph, you did not come into my house thinking you would just go and buy your own daughter's love and forgiveness, now did you?"

There wasn't much that could make Roman shrink back, but the angry voice of one Patti Reigns could always do the trick. "Mom no. That wasn't what we were doing." He shifted around in his seat, uncomfortable with being in the proverbial hot seat. The arrival hadn't gone quite as well as he had hoped it would. Joelle, while having the immediate flash of happiness to see him as well as the joy over getting three sacks full of new toys, had still been distant. She had attached herself to Dean rather than him, dragging him off to play with her new stuff. Roman had wanted to go and at least watch them, but his mother had dragged him into the kitchen instead.

"No?" Patti didn't look the least bit convinced. Not that he even completely blamed her. Considering all the stuff that had been happening, he could see how it could be taken that way.

"I like surprising her with presents when I come home. It's nothing more than that." He looked around for his dad, whom he hadn't seen since arriving. "Dad used to do it all the time. Where is he anyway?"

"With your brother. They're on a fishing trip until Sunday."

"I thought you said you were both watching Jo though."

"We were going to. But after I told him you and Dean were coming -"

"He really left because of that?"

"He's not happy with you Roman. He adored Galina." Patti sat down next to him and folded her arms over her chest. "He knows the temptations that there can be out on the road, but he thought you were a better man who wouldn't even think to giving in to them."

Roman bit down on his lower lip. That hurt to hear. It hurt a lot. And he was completely grateful that Dean wasn't hearing it, because this was about the last thing that he needed. "This isn't some fucking temptation bullshit." He shook off his hurt as he slipped into a defensive mode. "I haven't been running around sleeping with a girl or guy in every town. There's just been Dean. I love him."

"You love him? Really?"

"That's what I said isn't it?"

"I can think of other things you've said that haven't meant much in the end."

"Look, I know you're pissed at me, alright? I fucked up with how I handled this shit. But I love Dean. I really fucking do. And I've already got Wyatt running around trying to make him doubt it and shit. You don't have to like what I've done, but I'm begging you not to start this doubting stuff in front of him. He fucking don't need to deal with it."

Patti's hardened expression took a turn for the confused. "Why would that Wyatt man even care to say that to Dean?"

"Well um...he and Dean were a thing..."

"What?" Patti's expression now shifted to disgust. "He dated a swamp monster? What is wrong with that boy?" She didn't even wait for him to answer before going back to her rant. "See, this is what was always the problem with the boys you brought home. You always fell for the dumb ones."

Roman nearly choked on the very breath he took. "Mom!"

"Well it's true!"

Roman shook his head. "I'm pretending you didn't say that." He pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going to go check on them." He didn't wait for a response. Instead he just left the kitchen and headed upstairs, stopping outside of Jo's room. He didn't just barge straight in. He didn't even try knocking. Instead he opened the door just a little bit, allowing himself to peek inside. Dean and Jo were sitting on the floor, her array of Disney princess dolls surrounding them as they played Candyland. Dean didn't look very comfortable down there, but he stayed just the same, saying something that Roman didn't quite catch. Whatever it was though made Jo laugh, which made Roman smile. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled his chest, and he kept himself quiet so he could keep watching. The last thing he wanted to do now was break the moment.

"Quit watching us like a freak Ro." Dean looked over at him, beckoning him over with his fingers. "Come join us. I need your help she's kicking my ass."

Joelle, who had started to wilt as she noticed Roman standing there, giggled at Dean's words.

"What did I tell ya about swearin' in front of her?" Roman came the rest of the way in the room, leaving the door open behind him. He plopped down on the side in between them, pulling Jo on to his lap and kissing the side of her head. "How about I get my own piece? I dont' mind starting late."

Joelle tried to wiggle out of his grip for a moment before giving up and letting herself relax against him. "You have to be yellow," she warned him. "Grandpa lost the red piece."

"Grandpa did?" Roman raised his eyebrows, knowing far better than that.

"Mhm." That was her story and she was sticking to it.

"Alright. I'll be yellow then."

"And I'll whoop your ass," Dean declared. "I know I can beat you at least."

Roman reached over and slapped him upside the head for swearing again.

"Ow! You fu - ooookaaaay, not saying it. Not saying." Dean wisely caught himself before his mouth went too far. "Just go Romeo."

"Don't call me that." Roman thought about slapping him on the head again, but went with taking his turn instead. He'd get him the next time he called him that.

* * *

"But I don't want you and Mommy to get a divorce! Why can't you just say you're sorry?"

Dean winced as the sound of her demand reached his ears. He hadn't been trying to listen in. He had just been going to the bathroom before trying to slip back off to the guest room he was staying in (separate from Roman of course, as to make sure Jo didn't happen to see anything they didn't want her to yet). He knew that Roman had gone to read to Jo and spend some alone time with her before she went to bed, but he hadn't expected to walk right into the path of this conversastion.

"It's not that simple sweetheart." Roman's voice was quieter, but now that Dean was listening, he could still hear him just perfectly. "It's complicated grown up stuff."

"You made Mommy cry!"

"I know I did."

"So say you're sorry!"

"I have said I'm sorry baby girl. It's not that simple though."

"You don't love Mommy anymore. That's it isn't it?"

"Jo, I'll always love your mother. But just...not in a way that we can stay married."

"So you don't love her." The accusation started out venomous, but quickly cracked in a way that told Dean she was near tears.

"That's not what I said Jo." Roman's voice was still soft, but with a pleading edge to it now. "Things happened sweetheart. Things you're too young to understand."

"I don't want you and Mommy to divorce." She was crying now, which made Dean just feel completely gutted with guilt. "I don't want Mommy to get a new Daddy or for you to get a new Mommy. I don't want it."

"I know honey, but -"

Dean made himself move, not wanting to listen to any more. This wasn't his place. He had done enough damage as it was. He didn't need to keep intruding on such a private moment.

He slipped back into his room, ditching his shirt before flopping down on to the bed. He had originally been planning on changing into sweat pants, but now he didn't even care to. Instead he just closed his eyes, trying to somehow will his brain into not thinking so much. He didn't want so much weighing on his mind. He didn't want to feel this guilt choking him still. He was tired of it. He was so fucking tired of it.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there. He kept his eyes stubbornly closed, not wanting to admit that he wasn't anywhere close to falling asleep. It wasn't until he heard his door opening that he gave up and opened them. Roman slipped in, his eyes giving away how roughly the rest of that talk had gone. "Hey uh, I know we agreed on separate rooms and all." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking both sheepish and hopeful. "But um...you know, I was just wonderin' if -"

"Get the hell over here." Dean scooted over and patted the spot next to him.

Roman let out a sigh of relief, nearly scrambling over to climb on to the bed. He laid down on his stomach, one arm wrapping around Dean as he laid his head against his chest. Dean placed a hand on his back, frowning as he started rubbing slow circles on it.

"You want to talk about it?" Dean didn't want to admit he had heard any of it. It still felt wrong that he had even stumbled on to it.

"She hates me," was Roman's reply.

Dean winced. "She don't hate you man."

Roman scoffed at that. "She does right now."

"She's like, upset and shit. This shit is rough." Dean couldn't speak from complete personal experience; his dad had split months before he was even born. But about every other kid in the shitty apartment building he had grown up in had been a product of a divorce, and he had seen how it fucked with their heads. "It'll take like, time or whatever. She's gotta work through adjusting and shit."

"I know. I just...fuck." Roman tightened his grip on Dean while snuggling his face more against his chest. "I want to just make it easier on her. Make it all better. And I fucking can't, and it's like, just fucking killing me."

Dean didn't say anything to that. He didn't know what to say. Instead he kissed the top of Roman's head, hoping that would say enough.

Judging from the little sigh he got, the gesture was at least appreciated.


	22. Chapter 22

"Ro...shit...please..."

Roman smirked. It was their last day off, and while his mom was out running errands and Jo was playing at a friend's house, he had decided they should take advantage of their alone time. Dean hadn't objected in the slightest. Once the surprise of Roman tackling him to the bed wore off, he was kissing him right back, his hands trying to rip Roman's clothes right off his body. The ripping didn't quite work out for him, which was just fine with Roman. He actually liked the shirt he had been wearing. It was laying on the floor now, along with the rest of their clothes. Roman was still on top of Dean, his mouth repeatedly placing kisses all across Dean's neck and shoulders. His hands held Dean by the wrists, effectively pinning them to the bed. Dean had kept trying to shove him down lower before he was ready. Patience had never been his strong suit, so Roman had to make him have it. He wanted to take his time. He wanted to explore every inch of Dean's body. He wanted to give him the kind of appreciation that he deserved.

"Come the fuck on!" Dean was nearly whining now, his hips bucking up to rub his hard cock against Roman's abs. "Quit trying to fucking kill me."

"Kill you?" Roman mumbled the words against Dean's skin. His mouth was right at Dean's pulse; he could feel it with every kiss he placed there. "I'm not trying to kill you."

"Like hell you're not." Dean tried to slip his wrists out of 0Roman's grip to no prevail. "You're fucking evil. That's what the fuck you are."

Laughing at that probably solidified his evil status, but Roman found it hard to care. He did at least move his mouth a little lower, leaving kisses across Dean's collarbone and chest.

"You know someone can come back at any minute," Dean reminded him.

"Nobody's due back for awhile."

"But what if they come back early? We'll be stuck with blue balls because you're a slow poke who just can't fuck me already."

"You're being dramatic." Despite his own dismissal, Roman did take a quick glance at the door before slightly speeding up his journey downwards. He let go of Dean's wrists as he went, giving the younger man a warning glare as he immediately started trying to push on his head again. "Do I need to tie you up?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna try me?"

Dean opened his mouth to do just that, but thought better of it at the last moment. He was rewarded with Roman starting up again. Down from his chest to his stomach, then his hips and thighs. Dean kept his hands to himself, gripping the sheets below him instead. "Evil," he repeated as he tried to keep his hips from bucking upwards. "I'm so going to get you for this shit. I hope you fucking know that."

Roman did. He was completely looking forward to it. For now he gave Dean a break, finally taking his cock into his mouth. Dean moaned, his hips finally bucking up now. Roman grabbed him, forcing him still before he was made to choke. He bobbed his head slowly, his tongue expertly working over the shaft. Dean's fingers grabbed his hair, gripping it entirely too tightly. His eyes nearly watered in pain, but he blinked them away as he kept going. He loved the way Dean felt in his mouth. He loved hearing the moans and whimpers pour from his mouth. The sounds were completely addicting.

"Ro...fuck...please..." Dean let go of his hair and propped himself up on his elbows. He watched Roman go, moaning again as Roman took one hand off of his waist so he could slip it down and wrap it around his own neglected cock. "Jesus fucking hell." Blue eyes fluttered shut for a moment before he forced them back open. "Is that how much you love having my cock in your mouth? You just fucking can't help but touch yourself over it?"

Roman groaned and closed his eyes. Hearing that talk was more than enough. If he saw the smirk that would come with it...well, he wasn't entirely sure what he would do. He moved his head faster, hollowing his cheeks to suck harder. Dean moaned, the rest of his words lost now. He laid completely back once more, his hands returning to Roman's hair. They just rested there, allowing Roman to keep moving at his own speed. He sucked Dean faster than he stroked himself, determined to get him off first.

"Fuck...Roman!" Dean arched his hips up as he came, more curses rolling off his tongue in the process. Roman swallowed down his load, moaning at the taste. His hand started to move faster, his release not far behind. It spilled all over his hand and the sheets, meaning he would definitely need to do laundry before his mother got home. No way he could ever let her find that stain.

"Come 'ere." Dean pulled Roman back up to him, capturing his mouth with a kiss. Roman returned it happily, grinning stupidly at the younger man when they finally broke apart.

"Shower?"

Dean nodded. "Shower."

* * *

The getting to stay together through another set of house shows didn't pan out. Dean had tried to argue into getting his way, but that hadn't gotten him anywhere. So while Roman flew up to New York, he went to West Virginia instead. He texted Jimmy on the way, hoping that he would at least be there. That had been a no as well; the company had put him on the same tour as Roman, deciding he could fulfill their quota of dance competitions in those cities. Dean had then gotten a text saying he could hit up Naomi and Tamina, but that was in no way happening. Dean was fairly certain that Naomi still wanted to put his and Roman's head on a stick. He wasn't going to try to hang around her and give her an actual chance to do it.

Once he was actually at the arena, he put himself in a little corner of the locker room, having no interest in interacting with anyone else. He felt the others giving him looks, but he forced himself to ignore them. He didn't give a shit what they thought of him anyway. It wasn't like he was used to people thinking that much of him. But he knew what they were thinking of him was also what they were thinking of Roman. That bothered him more than anything. They could think he was trash all day long, but having people think that of Roman fucking irked him.

He grabbed his tape from his bag and started wrapping his hands up. He was facing Bray in yet another street fight. He had honestly lost count of how many of these he had done. He didn't know why he couldn't just face anyone else. There were plenty of other people on the roster they could both face, yet they were always thrown back together. It was driving him absolutely crazy.

He finished getting his hands ready and put the tape back in his bag. His hand brushed and then paused on the drawing Joelle had given him. It was of the two of them, and he had been giving strict instructions to hang it up on his refrigerator as soon as he got home. He had promised he would, though it would be awhile before he actually made it back to his apartment. Until then he would keep it in his bag so he would have it close to him. He knew that eventually, when she one day found out the truth about him being the reason Roman cheated on her mom, her having any sort of love for him would probably disappear. No matter what Roman said to argue that, he knew it was true. He just had to hope that day wouldn't arrive for a long time.

"Dean?" One of the agents poked his head into the room. "Can we borrow you? We got a couple Make A Wish kids that want to meet you."

"Comin'." Dean zipped his bag up and shoved it under his chair before standing up. He didn't feel like really doing this, but it was whatever. He could fake it for the kids. They deserved that much at least.

* * *

Their match didn't last nearly long enough for Bray's taste. Bray tried to drag it out, stalling and toying with Dean so he could get back every second he had been missing with him. Dean had tried to fight him on it, looking to end the match at every possible turn. He had finally succeeded with an elbow drop through a table, picking up the win to send the crowd home happy. The loss didn't really bother Bray. Wins and losses had become meaningless when it had come to their matches. What mattered was Dean himself. He was the prize - and a troubled prize at that. Bray could see it in his eyes. There hadn't been a way to really prod at the subject during the match, which was what possessed him to follow Dean on his trip to the nearest bar after the show. He had told Luke to go ahead to the next town, saying he would catch up in the morning. Luke hadn't seem particularly thrilled, but Bray hadn't cared. There was no Roman for Dean to run to now, and he had to make the most of the opportunity.

He kept his distance still just for a bit, setting in at a table in the corner while Dean sat up right at the bar. He was throwing back shots like crazy, seemingly not caring that he wouldn't have anyone to drive him to a hotel after. A few fans approached him, and while he signed their stuff and took the pictures, Bray could tell he was losing his patience with it. That was when Bray stepped in, scaring away the intoxicated women with a look before sitting down on the empty stool next to Dean. "You should slow down a bit darlin'. Don't want to make yourself sick."

"Fuck off," Dean growled. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey that had been left for him and poured himself another shot. "Don't you fucking have anything else to do but bother me?"

"And miss out on the joy that is your company?" Bray shook his head. "Never."

Dean grumbled under his breath and downed his shot. He wasn't getting up and storming off though, which was a nice victory in Bray's book. "So what's been bothering you all night?"

"Nothing."

Bray leveled him with a look. "Do you really expect me to believe that little lamb?"

"Don't really give a shit what you believe." Dean's tone was defensive, giving himself away. "Fucking said nothing was wrong. Why can't you drop it?"

"Because you're lying." Bray grabbed the bottle of whiskey and shook the contents around. "Is it trouble in paradise?"

Dean's eyes narrowed. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Perhaps." Bray swatted Dean's hand away as he tried to take the whiskey back. "But it'd also explain why you're racing to give yourself alcohol poisoning."

"Not fucking trying to do that shit." Dean reached for the bottle again. "Shit isn't even your business."

"Is he regretting it?"

"Stop. Don't fucking even go there."

"If the answer's no then you could just say it." Bray had to keep poking. It wasn't in his nature to stop.

"The fucking answer is no you asshole." Dean managed to grab the bottle this time and yanked it back. "Fucking hell." He poured himself another shot and quickly drank it. "You really want to know the truth?" Enough alcohol was in his system to make him spill the beans faster than he normally would have. "I feel like a fucking asshole. I spent the past few days watching a little girl struggle with the fact that her family has fallen apart. I fucking broke up her parents' marriage. Even if Roman hadn't gone the route he did, it still would have been my fault. And she's fucking angry with him, and resents him, and that just fucking feels like my fault too."

If Bray felt like being completely honest, he would have pointed out that Dean fancied blaming himself entirely too much for this stuff. But he kept that to himself. That guilt was leading to this entire conversation, so who was he to argue against it?

"I know she's got to work through her shit." Dean was rambling on, drunk enough to really forget about the company he was keeping. "They all fucking do. But it's fucking hurting him, and I can't fucking do anything to help it and it's fucking killing me. I fucking love him and I can't even fucking help him."

Bray couldn't accurately describe the pain that went through his chest as the words came out of Dean's mouth. He wasn't surprised. He had known that was what Dean felt. But the fact that he had actually said it bothered him. The actual words made it more real.

"Oh god." Dean huffed out a bitter laugh. "I don't even have the guts to tell him that to his face. What kind of fucking boyfriend am I?" He drank a little more, slamming the shot glass down on the table when he was done. "I can fucking tell you but I can't tell him. Fucking pathetic."

"What are you going to do if his family doesn't get over it?" Bray wasn't touching that big L word. He would probably lose it if he did. "What if that resentment only grows, and he begs you for salvation?"

Dean flinched. "Stop it."

"What if you still can't give it to him?"

"Shut up."

"You don't feel like enough now. What are you doing to do when he starts to see that as truth."

"Fucking STOP!" Dean stood up abruptly, nearly toppling over his stool in the process. The eyes of everyone around them looked over to see Dean trying to Bray down to the floor. Bray stood his ground, catching Dean's wrists before he could start to hit. "You're a fucking bastard. You fucking...you don't got to fucking tell me shit I already fucking know." He yanked his wrists out of Bray's grip and stumbled back. "I fucking know I'm gonna probably fuck this up. Don't fucking have to keep reminding me."

Bray watched him go, ignoring the looks he himself was getting. He just kept silently debating on whether to go after him or not. He didn't want to fight with him more. He had done more than enough of that tonight. But he couldn't just let him go. Having him slip further and further away from him was driving him mad.

"Damn it." He got up, throwing some money at the bartender before heading out. Dean's head start wasn't too bad; he was too drunk to walk too fast. He was stumbling across the street, too busy yelling at the car that nearly hit him to notice the hooded figure that was also following him. "What the..." Bray frowned, feeling like he did recognize the figure. The hoodie the man was wearing, while plain looking in appearance, was still completely familiar. The person being quite tall and wearing ratty jeans probably helped with the familiarity. "Luke." Maybe he was wrong in his conclusion, but he didn't believe it. Luke was the only other person that he could think of that would have any sort of reason to follow Dean.

Dean made it across the street in one piece, cutting through the nearby alley because he was a fool for shortcuts. Luke went in right after him, leaving Bray unable to see either of them. "Oh hell." He glanced up and down the street, cursing the traffic that was coming. He waited for it to pass, the minute stretch seeming to last forever. Once the coast was clear he went across, jogging to get to that alley. He turned into it to find Luke standing over a fallen and bleeding Dean, a beer bottle clutched in his hand as the weapon. He didn't notice Bray at first, his focus too much on kicking the defenseless Dean in the ribs as he was down.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?"

Luke turned around, eyes widening as he saw Bray standing there. No words came out of his mouth. There was no real defense for his actions. Not with him being caught red handed. Bray glared at him, the words of anger ready to be unleashed off his tongue. But before he spoke, his eyes flickered down to Dean once again. He wasn't moving. Blood dripped from the gash on the side of his head, clearly needing some kind of attention. An idea popped into Bray's head. Despite whatever Luke's intention had been, he had actually delivered a gift.

"We'll talk about this later." Bray made sure to growl that, because they sure as hell were going to talk about it. But that would be later. For now he went to Dean, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. "Did he know it was you?"

Luke shook his head. "Didn't see my face."

"Good." Bray handed Dean's wallet to him. "Get rid of that. I'm telling him he got mugged." He carefully scooped Dean into his arms, pausing only to glare at the clearly unhappy Luke. "Are we about to have a problem?"

"...No." Luke reluctantly shoved Dean's wallet into the pocket of his hoodie.

"Good." Bray adjusted his grip on Dean so he was holding him more tightly to him. "Then get rid of it and get gone. I'll meet you at the show tomorrow."

Luke nodded and walked away. Bray made sure he was completely out of sight before placing a kiss on the top of Dean's head. "C'mon little lamb. Let's get you cleaned up."


	23. Chapter 23

"Yo. It's Dean. I'm uh, not here right now, so leave a message or shit."

Roman sighed and hung up. He had already left a couple of voicemails, so there wasn't any use in leaving another. He hung up the phone and put it back on the bedside desk. He was bunking with Jimmy tonight, who was already asleep in the other bed. Their show had gone well enough; Jimmy had beat Heath Slater in a dance competition and in a match while Roman had gotten through a street fight against Big Show. He had wanted to end his night by talking to Dean, but he couldn't get an answer from him. It wasn't that unexpected of a thing. Dean tended to either bury his phone in his bag so he couldn't hear it, and sometimes he even forgot to charge it and not realize it was dead. But he couldn't help to be worried. Between the drama he had brought on Dean himself, and knowing Bray was still lurking around, he really wanted to check in with him.

"Still ain't answerin'?"

Roman nearly jumped, his head whipping up to look at Jimmy. "The fuck man? I thought you were sleeping."

"Was trying to. Can't actually get there though." Jimmy rubbed his hands over his face before sitting up. "How'd it even go at your mom's? You didn't really say."

Roman sighed. "It uh...could have gone better. Could have gone worse sure, but still..."

"Jo take it hard?"

"Of course she fucking took it hard." Roman didn't actually mean to snap. He didn't want to piss Jimmy off. "She's a kid. She don't fucking understand why I just can't say sorry to her mom and just come back home. She doesn't really get that I'm not in love with her mom, and I burned my bridge with her even if I wanted to go back to pretending like I was."

"Does she think it has anything to do with her?"

"I don't think so...I mean, I could be wrong, but I didn't get that vibe." He shifted around, wondering if he should just abandon the idea of sleep all together and turn on the TV. If he had been alone or with Dean it wouldn't even be a question. He could do it without even thinking. Dean couldn't sleep half the time, so it wasn't like he minded. But Jimmy was an entirely different story. "I tried to tell her it wasn't like that anyway. Don't know what good it did. She pretty much hates me now, so I don't think she believed me."

"Dude, don't talk like that," Jimmy scolded. He placed his palms flat against the mattress, clearly ready to get up and smack Roman upside the head if need be. "She don't hate you. She's upset. She's got that right. But that don't mean she hates you. She adores your ass."

Roman managed a small smile. "You sound like Dean."

"Well at least one of you has some sense." Jimmy chuckled until he saw Roman sneak another glance at his phone. "I'm sure he's fine man. He'll probably call you back in the morning saying he forgot to turn it on or whatever." Jimmy shifted around so he was laying back down once again. "Try to relax a little. He'd get all grouchy on ya if he knew you were worrying like this."

That was true, but it wasn't like he could help it. Roman nodded along anyway, switching the lamp next to him off and laying down himself. Sleep didn't feel any closer to coming, but he figured if he faked it long enough it would eventually take hold for real.

* * *

The first thing Dean could really comprehend once he regained consciousness was that he wished he hadn't. His head was pounding, leaving him wanting to throw up."Wha..." His voice trailed off with a loud groan. The pain was nearly enough to make him want to throw up. He briefly considered getting up to do just that, but quickly tried to forget about that urge. Moving sounded so awful that staying still and fighting the urge to vomit sounded like the much better option.

He blinked several times as unconsciousness refused to come back to him. He was laying on a bed, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He hadn't booked a hotel. He hadn't intended to. Before changing gears and trying to drink his weight in whiskey, he had figured that he would just drive straight to the next town. After he had started drinking...well, he hadn't thought about what he would do travel wise. He just acted on impulse, his mood getting spoiled by Bray's arrival.

"Nice to see that you're awake."

Dean's eyes widened. He forced himself to sit up, nearly going too fast and making himself pass out. Bray was walking towards the bed, a bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of aspirin in the other. "Wha -"

"You remember what happened little lamb?" Bray asked as he sat down next to him.

Dean groaned, trying to piece together the answer to that. He remembered being at the bar. He remembered storming off to get away from Bray. He remembered realizing he was being followed and immediately thinking it had been Bray. He had turned to yell at him, only to have the person strike him right upside the head. "Some fucker attacked me," he finally said. He reached up and gingerly touched his head, wincing as his fingers traced over the cut.

"You see his face?" Bray put the bottle of water in Dean's lap so he could grab him by the wrist and force his hand back down. "Don't do that. It took forever to super glue that shut."

"Fucking super glue man?" Dean jerked his wrist out of Bray's grip. "You couldn't have taken me to get stitches?"

"You hate hospitals," Bray reminded him. He popped open the bottle of aspirin and poured two out into the palm of his hand. "And you didn't answer my question."

"I didn't see his face." Dean wished he had. He wanted to hunt the fucker down and kick his ass.

"Well, he got your wallet before I found you." He offered the pills for Dean to take.

"And you didn't think about calling the cops?"

"Nothing good has ever happened when I've been around darlin." He offered the pills up again, sighing impatiently when Dean still refused to grab them. "I didn't see his face either, alright? I just saw him running off and you bleeding on the ground. I wanted to get out you of there."

Dean grumbled under his breath and took the pills out of Bray's hand. There was plenty he could say about that. He knew the real reason Bray didn't call the police or take him to the hospital. Doing those things meant letting go of the opportunity to have him alone like this. It was absolutely ridiculous and Dean knew he needed to get out of there. Indulging this was too slippery of a slope. But even as his brain kept telling him to go, his body wouldn't really obey. His head still hurt so much that just staying still made him feel shit. "Fucking hell." He popped the aspirin in his mouth and just swallowed them dry. He winced, forgetting how long it had been since he had last done that. "Fuck."

"That's why I got you the damn water." Bray reclaimed it, taking the cap off of it and holding it up to Dean's mouth. "Drink. Now."

"Quit being so bossy." Dean still obeyed, mostly because it didn't feel like the pills had actually gone all the way down. "Where the fuck is my phone?"

"Don't worry about it."

Dean's eyes narrowed. Bray's quick, dismissive answer told him it was somewhere in the room with them.

"What?" Bray tried (and failed) to look innocent. "You don't need it right now. You need to rest."

"Has Roman called?" Dean knew that his priorities were possibly a little out of whack with that question. Getting the phone so he could call the police and his credit card companies was objectively more important. But he didn't want to be objective. He was tired and hurting and still somewhat drunk and he just wanted Roman.

Bray's eyes turned cold at the question. "How should I know? I haven't been paying attention." He pointed his finger at Dean's chest. "I've been taking care of you this whole time. A little appreciation would be nice."

Dean groaned. "Bray...just...I don't want to fight."

"I'm not looking to pick a fight darlin."

"Then just give me my phone." Dean didn't know why he was making the request again. Bray wasn't going to make it that easy. His best bet was to get up and try to find the thing himself.

"What good is calling him even going to do?" Bray didn't do a good job of masking the bitterness in his voice. Hell, he probably didn't even try at all. It wasn't like his negative feelings toward Roman were a secret. "He can't come and take care of you. Oaf wouldn't even be able to do it half as well as me anyway."

"Does everything between you two have to become a pissing contest?" Dean knew the answer to that one already. They had both made it clear a hundred times over. It still completely grated on his nerves though.

"I was just sayin..."

"You've said more than enough." Dean started trying to get off the bed. The pain in his head worsened, making his vision swim. He tried to solider through it, too stubborn to give up yet.

"Darlin -"

"Look, I appreciate you not leaving me just laying there in the alley, but I gotta -" the rest of Dean's words were lost as Bray grabbed his arm and yanked him back on to the bed. The sudden movement was too much, disorienting Dean before he even hit the mattress. Before he knew what was happening, Bray's mouth was on his, kissing him with a desperation he rarely showed. Dean's eyes widened, the realization of what was happening not sinking in as fast as it really should have. He pressed his hand against Bray's chest and tried to shove him off. Bray didn't so much as budge. He just pushed Dean's hand off of him, his kisses deepening. Dean groaned, trying to turn his head now. There wasn't any real room to escape. Not from Bray. He kept it up, not caring to stop and breathe. Dean's mouth was all but forced to move in return.

When Bray finally broke the kiss they were both panting, Dean's eyes wide while Bray's were filled with something the blond couldn't quite read. The silence seemed to last forever. Dean wanted to say something. He wanted to tell Bray off for that. He needed to. He couldn't let him get away with it. But the words were stuck in his throat. His head was still spinning, the booze, the head injury and that fucking kiss leaving him all kinds of fucked up.

"You know I still love you.." Bray couldn't let things stay quiet for too long. "I can't stop thinking about you." He traced his fingers across Dean's face, not letting the way Dean flinched outwardly bother him. "I know you're stuck on him. I know you're chasing some dream ending with him. But I saw you in that bar tonight. He's draining you already. There'll be nothing left of you if you don't make him stop now."

Dean shook his head. He couldn't listen to this. He let this go too far. He had to get out of there. He pushed at Bray's chest again, using both hands this time. His attempt at getting Bray off of him finally worked. He scrambled up to his feet, bolting for the door. He didn't even bother to try to find his phone. Putting as much distance between him and Bray was the only thing he was concerned with.

* * *

The sound of his phone finally ringing broke Roman's failed attempts to make himself sleep. He rolled over, reaching for the phone so he could answer it before it woke Jimmy up. "Shit!" His hurried attempts to get the damn thing resulted to it falling to the floor. "Shit shit shit!" The words were hissed quietly, his body nearly tumbling off the bed completely as he reached down and finally got it. He rolled himself back over fully on the mattress, his eyes catching sight of Dean's name on the screen. He let out a sigh of relief as he pressed the answer button. Fucking finally. "You alright man?" He didn't bother even saying hello. Not after how long he had been waiting. "I tried calling you earlier. You forget where your phone was again or something?"

No answer. Roman could hear breathing on the other side, but Dean wasn't rushing to say anything. "Dean?" He glanced at the clock. It was just after three in the morning. "Come on man. I'm not pissed you didn't answer me. I just wanted to talk to ya."

Still no answer. Roman sat up, concern popping back up as well as some annoyance. "Dean? Seriously, say something to me. You're fucking scaring me and it's not funny."

"...He's so pretty when he sleeps."

Roman nearly dropped the phone. It was Dean. It was Bray. "What the fuck are you doing with his phone?" The words Bray actually said hadn't sunk in yet.

"He thinks himself of only have sharp edges." Bray kept on talking, not even acknowleding Roman's question. "He can't see how he softens." He let out a chuckle. "Such a perfect little lamb."

"How the fuck did you get his phone Wyatt?" Roman got off the bed, quickly retreating to the bathroom and closing the door behind him. "And what the fuck are you even talking about?"

"Ohhhh right, right, you don't really know yet, do you?" Bray laughed, the sound of which made Roman sick to his stomach. "Well, our dear little lamb decided to go out for a few drinks. He looked so miserable today. That scarlet letter you stamped him with is weighing on him."

Roman tightened his grip on the phone, wishing so badly he was closer to Bray so he could find him and punch him in the face.

"And he came to me, just so weak and willing..."

"You're lying," Roman snapped.

"Am I?"

Of course he was. He had to be. Roman couldn't believe him. This had to be a trick somehow. Bray loved fucking with him. This was all it was again. "You stole his phone." Roman kept his voice at a growl, trying to leave no room for argument. "You fucking stole it and you're fucking with me."

"Then how come I can still taste him on my lips?"

Roman stiffened. Even with the mantra of the word liar going through his head, the mere thought of that still twisted his stomach into a knot.

"He was just so eager to forget how your little trip home went. He blames himself you know. Thinks it's all his fault your daughter hates you now, and he came crying to me, just like he always -"

Roman hung up the phone, tossing it against the wall so hard he surely broke it. He kept repeating the word liar to himself, trying to make sure that sunk in. Bray was a liar. Bray had to be fucking lying to mess with him. He couldn't be telling the truth.

"God fucking damn it." Roman left the bathroom, not caring to pick up the broken pieces of his phone. Instead he quickly got dressed and grabbed his key card, quietly slipping out the door. He needed some air to clear his head.


	24. Chapter 24

Dean wasn't even sure how he made it through the next night's house show. His head felt like complete shit. He knew he should have gone to the trainer's to get checked for a concussion, but he was too reluctant to do that. He didn't want to be put out of action. He didn't want to be sent home. All he could picture from that scenario was Bray showing up at his place and trying to finish what he started at the hotel. At least on the road he could bite the bullet and stay with Naomi and Tamina. They didn't really talk to him, but Tamina did let him use her phone so he could call Roman. Roman hadn't answered, so he had just left a message saying they needed to talk when they met up at Raw on Monday. Tamina had still been close enough to where she could possibly overhear things on his end, so he hadn't wanted to get into what happened over a voicemail. It needed to happen when they had total privacy.

He got to Raw early, having split up with Naomi and Tamina since they had some special on location photoshoot to go do. He wandered around the building, not at all happy when he didn't find Roman. He knew his boyfriend was probably stuck doing a radio interview or something, but that didn't change the anxiety that was starting to eat away at him. He tried to shove it away, telling himself that he was being stupid. It was Roman. He could just tell him what happened, and besides Roman surely getting even more pissed at Bray, that would be that. Nothing to worry about.

He was near the divas locker room when he finally saw Roman. Their eyes met, and the frown that crossed Roman's face before he managed to mask it made Dean's stomach sink. Something was up. He tried to tell himself he was being paranoid, but he knew deep down that whatever Roman was about to say, he wasn't going to like it.

"You find us a room?" Roman was the first to speak once they were stopped in front of each other.

"Does it look like it?" Dean gestured toward the bag in his hand. "I've been looking for you this whole time." He shifted around, hating the way his skin was crawling. "Did you get my message?"

"That and more."

Uh oh. "What -"

"Come on." Roman didn't even let him finish the question. He just started walking, jerking his head as an added sign for Dean to follow him. Dean did so, chewing on his lower lip as they found an empty room and slipped inside it. He locked the door behind them and let his bag drop by his feet. Roman dumped his stuff near a chair on the other side of the room, his lips pressed together tightly. His expression was just making Dean feel even worse.

"Ro?" Dean didn't know whether he should just start, or let Roman go first.

"You said we had to talk." Roman folded his arms over his chest, looking just as apprehensive as Dean felt.

"Yeah." Dean shoved his hands into his pockets to keep himself from rubbing at his collarbone. "Something uh...kind of happened Saturday."

Roman stiffened. "Yeah. Wyatt gave me his version of the story already."

Dean's eyes widened. His phone. He had left his phone with Bray, giving the other man perfect access to call Roman and weave whatever tale he wanted. Shit shit fucking shit. "What did he tell you?"

"That you went out drinking." Roman spoke reluctantly, his hands grabbing the back of the chair he was standing near. "Said that you went to him because you were upset about things went when we went to Mom's. Says you blame yourself for Jo hating me now."

Dean groaned. He wasn't shocked at all about any of that. It was just like Bray to blur truths and lies together for his own benefit. "I didn't go crying to him. I went out for some drinks after the show. He found me there and came over to bother me. It was his usual bullshit."

"How'd he get your phone?"

"He um...there was a thing that happened…."

"What thing?"

"Promise not to freak on me, okay?"

Roman narrowed his eyes. "Dean…"

Yeah, that was a dumb thing to say. Roman would probably freak out just on principle now. Dean almost said to forget about it, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Roman wouldn't let it drop now. "I uh...kind of got attacked after I left the bar."

Roman's eyes widened. "What?"

Dean cringed. "Yeah uh...look, I left the bar because Bray was saying shit. And I was walkin' and whatever, and some asshole hit me from behind on the head. Fuckin' took off with my wallet and left me there."

"Jesus fucking Christ Dean!" Here came the freakout. Roman wasn't even going to try to hold it back. "Are you alright? Did you go to the hospital? Or the police? Why didn't you say that in your message? I would have flown out to you and -"

"Gotten in trouble for missing another show," Dean finished for him.

Roman shook his head. "Like I give a fucking damn." He let go of the chair and closed the distance between them. "Seriously, did you go to the doctor?"

"Well…"

"That's a no." Roman looked at him in exasperation. "You know we're marching our asses down there right now, don't you?"

Dean groaned. "I don't fucking need it."

"Bullshit you don't." Roman grabbed his face and turned his head from side to side, seeing the cut Bray had closed up while he had still been unconscious. "Dean!"

"I'm fine," Dean insisted. "I don't want them to send me home and shit. It's not like they're even doing anything with me anyway. I at least want to be on the road."

"You didn't even call the cops did you?"

"What was the point? I didn't see who did it. I saw the hoodie he was wearing, but that doesn't really tell me anything." Dean grabbed Roman's wrists and moved his hands back down. "Fucking just let me finish the story alright?"

Roman still looked far from happy, but he nodded for Dean to continue all the same.

"I woke up in Bray's hotel room." Dean winced at the look that flashed across Roman's face. "I guess he followed me from the bar and found me after I got attacked."

"Or he was the one to attack you."

Roman's words made Dean pause. "I don't think -"

"He just conveniently found you and decided not to get you any help?" Roman shook his head. "I don't fucking buy it."

"He doesn't like cops and hospitals any better than I do." Dean didn't know why he was bothering to argue about this. Nothing he would say would really change Roman's mind. Hell, he could see why he thought it made so much sense. But even still, he didn't find himself actually believing it. Bray was capable of a lot of things, but Dean couldn't see him doing something like that. Not to him. "But he took my phone sometime before I woke up. I didn't feel it in my pocket and he got all pissy if I asked if you called."

"And when he said he could still taste you?" The words left Roman's mouth very reluctantly. Dean could tell he almost chickened out, but morbid curiosity clearly won out. "What the fuck did that mean?"

Dean grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "He um...kissed me."

Roman was silent for a very long time. Dean tried to wait for him to speak again, eventually just growing too uncomfortable to allow it. "Ro?"

Roman finally let out a low, bitter chuckle. He backed away from Dean, still laughing as he started to shake his head. The reaction didn't feel anywhere near appropriate, but Dean couldn't bring himself to say anything about that. He just waited, jumping as Roman picked up the chair and hurled it across the room. "Roman!"

Roman waved him off, heading right towards the door instead.

"Ro?" Dean tried to grab his arm, only to get his touch shaken off.

"I'm gonna kick his fucking ass," Roman snarled. "And I ain't fucking waiting until Sunday."

Shit. That wasn't good. Dean didn't necessarily object to the idea (he never opposed to going to get into a fight), but if Roman went on such a rampage that it put a stop to the match at the pay per view, the Authority would make sure his head rolled for it. But before he could voice that objection, Roman was out the door, looking for the fight he so desperately craved. "Oh hell." Dean considered chasing after him, but decided against it. Roman wasn't going to listen, and after everything that had been happening, he deserved to get his own licks in before the match, what the Authority thought be damned.

* * *

Bray Wyatt was a terrible man to try to find. Roman had been learning that lesson all too well over the past few weeks. He stormed around the entire arena, hoping he could just find Bray to beat his ass before the show even started. But Bray was nowhere to be found. The closest he got to him was passing by Luke, who disappeared as quickly as Roman even spotted him. Roman was nearly ready to pull his own hair out. All he could picture in his mind was Dean being hurt and Bray completely taking advantage of that. He tried to push those thoughts away. All they were doing was making him want to be sick. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them to stay away. They taunted him, nearly driving him mad.

With no Wyatt in sight, he stormed to the Authority's office next. He found only Stephanie there, who didn't look at all happy to see him. "What can I do for you Roman?" She at least tried to put on a diplomatic mask.

"Move the match up to tonight." He kept his fists balled up at his sides, wishing that he had found Hunter instead. He could at least shove him up against the wall and rough him up until he got what he wanted.

"What?" It took a moment for Stephanie to fully realize what he was talking about. Once she did she started shaking her head. "Absolutely not. We haven't spent this much time promoting it just to give it away for free on TV."

"Hasn't stopped you before," he snapped. "It can be in a tag match if you insist. You're not giving away everything then."

"Bray has a match already though."

"So?" It was getting harder to fight the urge to throttle her. Was it really so hard to just give him this one little thing? He wasn't asking for a whole lot. He really fucking wasn't. "You people change matches all the time. Do it again."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed dangerously. Roman stood his ground, refusing to show that he had pushed his luck this much. "Bray's facing Dean tonight," she growled. "I've got enough on my plate tonight without changing the matches around. You want Bray so badly? Find him yourself."

Roman wanted to say that he had tried that. He wanted to bring up the fact that he didn't think Dean should wrestle until he stopped being stubborn about seeing the doctor. But even as the words started to form on the tip of his tongue, he didn't actually let them come out. Everything in his brain clicked into place. He had to find Bray. Bray would be in a match with Dean. He had to make sure Bray didn't lay one single finger on Dean. And he could do all of that in one big swoop. "Fine." He kept his voice low, his expression sneered in anger. "Whatever." He turned around and stormed out, feeling like he may have acted just a little too much like a petulant teenager. Oh well. It didn't matter. All that mattered was mustering up the patience to wait so he could go with his next plan.

* * *

"I still don't understand what you see in him."

Bray ignored Luke's words as he continued to prepare. It was nearly time for his match with Dean, which did not leave this as an opportune time for this conversation. Though really, there was no good time. Not when Luke just couldn't understand.

"He used you." Luke wasn't about to let up. His eyes were locked on to Bray, unblinking and intense. "You were nothing more than a warm body for him to use when he didn't have Reigns all to himself. You don't have to keep chasing after him like a lovesick puppy."

Except he did. Bray couldn't imagine doing anything else. When he had Dean, things felt complete. His world -. no, his very soul - felt like it was finally whole. He hadn't known that he had been missing a piece to his puzzle, but now that he did, he didn't want to let go. He especially didn't want Roman to be the one who won over him. Brute didn't deserve Dean, no matter what he thought.

Luke stepped fully in front of him, still not shutting up. "The whole world knows he's nothing more than a two bit whore. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. Why can't you see it?"

Bray narrowed his eyes. "I see everything just fine."

"No." Luke's stubbornness was starting to wear on Bray. "You don't. He's made you blind. If he loved you he would have chosen you without question. He's made his bed with Reigns. Let him rot in it."

"And what do I get out of that?" Bray asked. "You think yourself so wise. Tell me what I get out of that."

"You could find someone else. Someone more deserving."

It wasn't that Luke was objectively wrong. He wasn't one to go around and speak nonsense. But Bray didn't want to hear it. He didn't want anyone else. His heart and mind were still too settled on Dean.

Bray pushed past Luke with a growl, snagging his lantern on the way out. He could hear Dean's music playing as he headed for the curtain. His mind slipped from his, his body going into autopilot as his mind shifted more fully to Dean. He really was ridiculous. There was no escaping that truth. But he didn't want to escape it. He didn't want to lose the taste of Dean on his tongue. He didn't want to forget how every inch of Dean's body felt underneath his fingertips. He needed to have him again. He just had to.

His head was so filled with his own thoughts he didn't notice the footsteps following him during his entrance. It wasn't until the lights came back on, the crowd unexpectedly roared and Dean's eyes widened that he realized anything was up. Before he could turn around himself, a hand was turning him and landing a punch in the face. Roman. The brute was attacking him with a fury, reducing him to merely a punching bag. He tried to defend himself, but his attempts were mostly futile. Roman thrashed him all around the ringside area before throwing him into the ring to do the same. It wasn't until he was Superman punched back out of the ring that he had any real breathing room. Reigns reached through the ropes at him again, but he managed to grab his lantern and smack Roman in the head with it. The blow was enough to get Roman to stumble back, and Bray seized the opportunity to retreat up the ramp. His eyes caught sight of Dean standing by the announcer's table, his expression not exactly surprised. Bray couldn't tell if Dean had known what was going to happen or just wasn't surprised that it had. Either way, Bray felt a surge of anger course through him.

People cleared out as he stormed backstage, not wanting him to see how pleased they were he got beaten out there. No matter what they thought of Roman and Dean now, they still hated him more. He moved just a little beyond the Gorilla position, planting himself right in plain sight. He saw Luke lingering on out of the corner of his eye, but he put up a hand to gesture him to wait. If they wanted to play, then he could do this too.

"The hell was that Roman?" Dean's voice was the first to reach Bray's ears. "You could have at least have let me get some licks in. That's some fucking bullshit."

"I did what I had to do," Roman replied. They were walking right towards Bray, neither realizing it as their eyes stayed locked on each other. "I couldn't beat his ass earlier and Stephanie wouldn't change the match to have me in it too. Besides, you shouldn't be wrestling until we get your head checked out."

Dean groaned loudly. "Fucking hell man. I'm fine. How many more times do I have to say it?"

"You can say it as much as you want. You're seeing the trainer." Roman stopped walking and put his hand on Dean's head. "I deserved to get at him anyway. He's been sneak attacking me for weeks. And then he kissed you and that's just...Dean come on. Don't be mad."

"Just promise him you won't be mad about him kissing me back."

Dean and Roman's heads snapped in Bray's direction. Roman's eyes turned murderous again, his body readying for another fight. He made the mistake of glancing at Dean though, who looked wide eyed and so caught completely red handed. Anger turned to confusion and hurt, and Bray let out a laugh. He knew Dean hadn't meant to really kiss him back. He had drawn it out of him, not letting up on his dazed and confused state until he got what he wanted. But the guilt was still there in the back of Dean's mind, blaming himself for not being strong enough to shove him away sooner. And that guilt was on display now, painting the situation in a very different light.

"See you Sunday boys." Bray tipped his head at the both of them before spinning on his heels and walking away.


	25. Chapter 25

Dean nervously tapped his fingers against his thigh. The only sound in the car was the radio playing the local country music station he had found. He was in the passenger's seat while Roman drove. Neither of them had really talked since they had been in the arena. Bray's words hung heavily in between them. Dean knew why they had been said. It had been a desperate ploy to drive a wedge between them. Bray couldn't stand them together, and would say or do just about anything to mess it up. And his reaction to the words had only made things worse. He had made it look like he had willingly kissed Bray back. He hadn't meant to. He had wanted - no, still wanted - to scream the truth. He hadn't willingly done it. Bray had trapped him into it. But even with the words on the tip of his tongue and that truth on the tip of his tongue, he still felt guilty. He felt like he should have been able to push Bray away sooner. He tried to tell himself he was being stupid, but his brain wasn't really listening to him.

Dean sighed and looked out the window. There was nothing to really watch to entertain himself. It was too dark to see out in the fields, and there weren't any other cars for him to stare at. He tapped his fingers against his thigh faster, wishing he had his phone on him. While he wasn't much good with technology, Roman and Jimmy had taken his phone at different points and downloaded a couple of games that he could play okay enough. But he hadn't managed to get it back from Bray yet, and he didn't want to go near him again long enough to try it.

He glanced back at Roman. The older man had his eyes locked directly on the road in front of him. His expression was tense, his lips pressed into a thin line. There was nothing good going on in his head. Dean could see that plain as day. He needed to say something. He couldn't let this go on. "I um….it's not how he made it sound."

Roman didn't say anything. He just tightened his hands on the wheel and kept driving.

Dean swallowed hard and folded his arms over his chest, fingers twisting against the leather jacket he was wearing. "I….I didn't fucking mean to actually kiss him back." He tried not to sound too defensive. He didn't want to cause a fight. "I….I was trying to leave. I was trying to get up and he fucking pulled me back down on the bed, and then he just fucking...swooped in and fucking kissed me." He swallowed hard, gripping the sleeves of his jacket even more tightly. "I just...it fucking made me about sick. I was still drunk and my head just hurt so much and he just...he just kept crowding me. And I tried to push him off and he didn't budge and he fucking wasn't stopping and I just...it just happened." Dean squirmed as Roman stayed silent. "I'm sorry. I'm fucking sorry okay?"

Roman finally sighed and looked at him. Gray eyes were tired, leaving Dean to feel even worse.

"You don't believe me?"

"I'm not saying that."

"You're not saying anything Ro!"

"Because I'm tired Dean!" Roman slapped a hand against the steering wheel and looked back at the road. "I'm just...I'm fucking tired. I know he's a fucking liar. I know not to believe him over you. I'm not an idiot. I just...it's just fucking exhausting. I don't know how much more of this shit with him that I can take."

Dean looked down. He didn't have anything to say to that. Nothing he could come up with seemed helpful. Bray was doing this because of him. This whole thing had started over him, and it was continuing on because of him. Choosing Roman hadn't changed anything. Having everything all come out had only made things worse for Roman's family life. And Dean couldn't see any way to actually make things better. That was what really killed him. He wanted to fix things. He felt like he needed to, but he didn't know what to he could think of seemed like it would really help.

The silence fell back between them, feeling just as heavy as before. Dean slouched down in his seat, keeping his gaze out the window as fought to keep his fingers from tapping again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Roman frown. A moment later the older man was setting his phone on Dean's lap. He didn't say anything as Dean looked at him. He just nodded his head, and Dean spent the rest of the drive playing Candy Crush. He wasn't that good at it, but it kept him semi-distracted until they got to the hotel.

The quietness between them didn't change once they were at the hotel. They changed out of their clothes and crawled into bed, Roman hitting the lights on the way. Dean turned on his side, not sure how he was even going to try to sleep. Rest had rarely ever seemed so far away.

Roman's arm slid around Dean's waist, pulling him in closer. He pressed a soft kiss against the back of Dean's neck, his thumb rubbing a slow circle against Dean's stomach. Dean relaxed back into his embrace. Sleep didn't feel any closer to coming, but he'd rather be awake while being held as opposed to lying there with so much space between them. For a little bit it allowed him to pretend that everything was just going to be magically okay.

* * *

"I told you that you should have just picked yourself."

Solomon's words made Roman stop as he was about to open the door to his and Dean's locker room. They had arrived at the Smackdown taping after a night of very little rest for both of them. They still hadn't done much talking this morning, Roman still being too mentally exhausted from Bray's antics while Dean just looking to avoid it as much as he could. They had discovered Solomon's presence after arriving, the other man saying he had come up to visit while Finn worked a dark match. Roman had left him and Dean alone so he could go film an interview, and had come back just in time to hear these words.

"Come on man. Fucking don't start lecturing me." Dean's voice was nearly a whine, though he would never admit to such.

"I'm not trying to lecture you," Solomon argued. "I'm just saying the truth. This shit is fucking tearing you apart."

"I wouldn't have been fucking happier alone." Roman heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor and he knew Dean was pacing around now. "Bray would still be on my ass. He'd probably still be fucking with Roman. There's no fucking winning. I'm just perpetually fucked."

"Dean…"

"I just...I can't make anything better. No matter what I do. Roman's family can barely fucking look at him because of me."

Roman barely held back a groan. He hated the way Dean kept blaming himself for that. That wasn't his fault. The way Roman had gone about things was to blame for that.

"His kid hates him, his ex is gonna fuck him over on seeing her, his father refused to even be in the house when we went over there…" Dean's voice trailed off, his distress shining through so clearly it hurt Roman's heart to hear it. "He's hurting cuz of that, he's hurting because Bray won't leave him alone….I need to do something Sol. And I fucking can't. I fucking can't do jack fucking shit. I'm fucking useless."

Solomon heaved out a sigh. "Look, you wanted to be with him."

"Want asshole. Want."

"Fine. Want. You want to be with him? You gotta fucking just ride this out with him. There's no easy fix to any of this. You gotta stop blaming yourself so much, and just start rolling with the punches more."

Dean groaned, the sound trailing off as silence took back over. Roman kept his hand on the doorknob, wondering if he should just go in now or walk away so they could keep talking. This wasn't something he should be really eavesdropping on. It was clearly meant to be private. But before he could make a move, Solomon started talking again and said something that rooted Roman to the spot.

"You really love him, don't you? I mean, shit Mox. I've never seen you this fucked up over someone before."

"Oh god…." There was a thump and Roman knew Dean had either kicked or punched something. "You know what's really awful?"

"What?"

"I can fucking blurt it to Bray that I love Roman, but I can't fucking say it to his face. That's how terrible of a fucking boyfriend I am."

"Why can't you say it to him? Is it really that fucking hard?"

"Fuck yeah it is. I just...I can't fucking say that to people."

"Why the hell not man?"

"Anyone I've ever actually fucking love leaves. You fucking know that. I just...I can't fucking say it. I've tried. I've tried so many fucking times, but it just fucking...fuck. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing."

Roman swallowed hard. It would be better if he walked away. He needed to give Dean some more time. He couldn't show him that he had overheard. The things Dean wanted to say to him was something he wanted to actually say to him, not something he wanted to have inadvertently overheard. But he couldn't just walk away. He didn't let himself. He opened the door and stepped inside, trying to look casual in the process. "Hey." He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he could get away with kicking Solomon out so he and Dean could be alone.

"Took ya long enough." Solomon was the one to speak. Dean was too busy grabbing the chair he had kicked over and putting it back upright. "Did ya stop to eat all the cheesecake again? Mox says you're a pig with that."

"Does he now?" Roman gave Dean a look, a smirk ruining his half hearted attempt at a glare. "Did he tell you he's usually helping me eat said cheesecake?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Dean muttered. He folded his arms over his chest and tried to look disinterested. "Don't even like cheesecake?"

Roman's smirk grew bigger as he walked over to Dean. It was amazing how much shit he was full of sometimes. "Well I guess I could leave ya here then while I go grab some."

Dean glared at him before bolting right out the door, totally betraying himself. Roman and Solomon both laughed, following him so they could actually get some for themselves.

* * *

Something was up with Roman. Dean could tell that much. It had been that way since before Smackdown, though Dean hadn't quite caught on at first. It had started with just some extra hugs and kisses, which he hadn't thought too much of. Way he had figured it, Roman had just been trying to compensate for the tension Bray's words had caused between them. But now that he was standing there in his kitchen, seeing the way too expensive bottle of wine on the table, and watching Roman trying to pile the lasagna on their plates, he definitely felt like something was up. While Roman could cook better than he could, it wasn't something he bothered all that much with either. Not unless it was breakfast food or something on the grill.

"What did you do?" Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He leaned against the doorway, trying to ignore how good the food smelled in favor of getting his question answered.

"What do you mean what did I do?" Roman looked over at him, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't cook for us without it meaning something bad?"

Dean shrugged. "Neither of us really cook Ro. And you don't just bust out a bottle of wine. You don't even like wine."

"Well tonight I do." He took the plates over to the table, motioning Dean to come join him. "Come on. Don't want it getting cold."

Judging from the amount of steam rising from it, Dean thought it was safe to bet it was a long time from getting to that point. He didn't argue though. Instead he joined Roman at the table, pouring them each a glass of wine before Roman could do it. Roman tried to take the bottle from him, but he just slapped his hand away. It was the least he could do if Roman cooked.

"Still think ya did something," Dean confessed as they ate. It was pretty good; Roman obviously had learned this from Patti.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Dean come on. All we ever eat is takeout food. I just wanted to do something different for once."

"Italian food and wine though?" Dean wished his mouth would just stop. He needed to just learn to not run it so much. "That's either a sign of you fucked up, or you're trying to seduce me."

Roman gave him an insulted look. "Since when do I have to try that?"

"Well…" Dean drew out the word, laughing as he got flicked on the side of the head. "Kidding. I'm just fucking kidding you bully."

"Better be." Roman gave him one more flick for good measure before shoveling more food in his mouth. "Or else I'm gonna make you do the dishes."

Dean put a hand over his chest, a look of mock horror coming over his face. "What? Chores? Oh no. What am I ever going to do?" He pretended like he was going to faint right out of his chair, laughing as Roman immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Easy there Mama Bear." He slipped his arm out of Roman's grip. "I'm fine. Calm your tits."

"Don't got tits." Even as he said this, Roman did take a glance down at his chest, almost checking to make sure that was still the case. "And I don't need you to fucking fall and bust your head on the floor. Not after I spent that long cooking."

Dean snickered before going back to eating, barely even touching his wine between bites. The conversation trailed off, though the silence between them wasn't tense like it had been the past couple of days. It was much more relaxed, the two of them just enjoying each other's company. Dean barely contained his smile. For the first time in awhile, things felt completely normal. Roman's match with Bray on Sunday wasn't looming in his mind. The shit with Roman's family was an afterthought. It was just him and Roman and everything felt okay.

When they were finished Roman washed up the dishes while Dean put away the leftovers and tried to sneak a few sips of wine straight from the bottle. All that got him was hit with a wet sponge and banished out to the living room. He grumbled under his breath as he plopped down on the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. He flipped through the channels, settling on basketball.

Roman came back into the room a little while later, sitting down in the spot Dean had left for him. He barely even glanced towards the TV. Instead he leaned over, surprising Dean with a kiss on the lips. "I love you."

Dean blinked, the automatic response his heart screamed to say stuck on the tip of his tongue yet again. Fuck fuck fuck! Fucking idiot!

"You don't got to say it back." Roman put a hand on his knee, thumb moving in a little circle. "You don't gotta say anything unless you're ready and whatever." He squeezed his knee now, smiling softly. "I don't want you feeling pressured and shit. I just want you to know that I do." He let out a nervous laugh, nearly stumbling over his own words. "You know, love you and stuff."

Dean just stared at him for a long moment, having a suspicion about where this was coming from. His mind flashed back to his conversation with Solomon at Smackdown. Roman had walked in right after, but clearly he had probably been outside the door for longer than he had let them believe. But Dean didn't find himself getting mad about it. It wasn't worth it. Instead he pulled Roman into another kiss, letting his mouth say the message that way instead having to force out the words.


	26. Chapter 26

Dean paced back and forth across the locker room, pounding his fist against the palm of his other hand as he went. Battleground had started just a bit ago and Roman was getting ready for his match. Dean didn't have a match of his own to prepare for, which gave him all the time in the world to worry about how Roman and Bray's bout was going to go. He had been trying not to think too much about it, but his avoidance had stopped working once they left his apartment in Vegas. He had no idea how this was going to turn out. He knew Roman and Bray would throw absolutely everything at each other. He knew they would both let their hatred for the other take the wheel and would seek to completely destroy each other. And all Dean could do was watch. He couldn't put a stop to it. The only thing he could do was hope that maybe this fight would somehow settle things. It was doubtful, but he still had to hope.

"Dean." Roman's voice cut through the haze of thoughts Dean had trapped himself in. He was still sitting on the bench, gray eyes following Dean's every move.

Dean just hummed at the sound of his name, not stopping his movements in the slightest.

"Hey." Roman tried again, speaking a little louder this time. "Dean. Come on. Sit down."

No. He couldn't do that. Moving wasn't solving anything, but he felt too twitchy to just keep still.

Roman sighed before standing up. He waited until Dean was within reach before wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him in close. Dean opened his mouth to object, but was quickly silenced by a kiss. Dean let himself melt into it, moving his arms up to drape them around Roman's neck. Roman hummed happily as he deepened the kiss, his one arm staying locked around Dean's waist while his other hand traveled down to give his ass a squeeze. Dean let out a low groan. He was halfway tempted to let Roman back him up against the wall and fuck him right there. His body was starting to beg for it at the mere thought. But before he could make the move, Roman was breaking the kiss and pressing their foreheads together.

"Better?"

"A little." Dean's voice was breathless to his own ears. His tongue darted over his bottom lip, his eyes looking down just a bit because looking directly into Roman's felt like way too much at the moment.

"Just a little?"

"Kind of want you to fuck me right now."

Dean's confession made Roman smirk. "Well…" He took a glance at the clock, wincing as he did so. "Don't think I really got the time."

Dean looked at the clock and groaned as he saw Roman was right. Someone would come poking their nose in before long if Roman wasn't seen heading towards the curtain. If this was going to be a different match, he would have made Roman promise to fuck him real good once he was back. But in this case he pushed that comment back, instead resting a fist against Roman's chest. "Kick his fuckin' ass out there, okay? And fucking come back here in one piece."

Roman nodded, the smirk fading in favor of a more serious look. "You want to get out of here right after it's done?"

"Yeah." Dean saw no reason to stick around. The only thing that he was remotely interested in seeing was Brock killing Seth, and he could just watch that on repeat on the network. "That'll be good."

"We could hit a waffle house after," Roman offered. "Get some breakfast."

It was Dean's turn to smirk now. "I remember when you used to hate waffle houses."

"Yeah well, you're a terrible influence on me." Roman gave him one last kiss before stepping away. "I'm gonna finish this alright? And then we're gonna go out and celebrate."

Dean nodded to those words, wanting to believe them. The doubts didn't leave his mind, but he tried to push them away. This finally had to end. It just had to.

* * *

Luke stayed in the shadows as he watched Bray prepare for his match. They hadn't really spoken or even seen each other since the night before. Bray had retreated into himself to prepare for this war. Or at least Luke hoped that was why he was being quiet. He hoped that he wasn't letting himself being distracted by thoughts of Ambrose. If that was the case, then there was no way Bray could even hope to win. Luke didn't like to admit it, but Roman was a brute who could get things done if one took him too lightly.

"Tiiiiime is on my side, yes it is…."

Luke's lips twitched into a very faint ghost of a smile. Bray always did love to sing. He hadn't been doing it a whole lot lately though, which he blamed Ambrose for. Dean was sucking the life out of Bray, and Bray still hadn't really accepted that. But Luke refused to be angry at him for it. Not after everything Bray had done for him. Bray had taken him in and saved him. He had shown him the path he was meant to follow in this life. Luke couldn't just give up on him. He had to keep trying to help him. He owed him that.

"Luke?" Bray cut off his own singing quite suddenly, glancing over to where the taller man was standing. He hadn't been blind to his presence after all. "I think it's time to show the world that you've come home. You've been sitting on the sidelines for far too long."

The latter part of that statement wasn't anything Luke would disagree with. It had been too long since he had been pushed aside. He blamed himself for it; he let it happen to him. But being with Bray would right that wrong. Bray was home, and he would help him win his war against Reigns and see the light when it came to Ambrose. Failure would not be an option for him.

* * *

There were several times during Bray's entrance that Roman found himself wanting nothing more to just take a chair and beat him senseless with it. He wanted to say fuck having the actual match and give him the absolute biggest beating of his life. But he made himself hold back. He made himself wait until the bell rang before he started fighting. He made himself resist the urge to get a chair. He didn't want Bray thinking he was desperate and weak enough to have to resort to using a weapon. He could beat him without that kind of stuff. He knew that he could. And he would make sure Bray knew it too.

Not that Bray made it remotely easy. For all the things that could be said about Wyatt, he was tougher than his tricks suggested. He gave as good as he got, nearly doing Roman in several times. Roman just fought harder, knowing he couldn't just lose. He had to win. This wasn't just for himself, though that provided more than its share of motivation. Bray had put him through more than enough bullshit to make him desire revenge something fierce. But he felt like he had to do it for Dean. Dean, who Bray had taken advantage of after he had been attacked. Dean, who had been forced in the middle of the war Bray had created. He felt like he had to do it for his daughter, who had been mentioned as a pawn in Bray's little games. They were the two people he loved the most, and Bray had to pay for exploiting them.

It was Bray that actually tried to grab chair first. It wasn't a fact that surprised Roman; Wyatt always looked for an escape route when he got in trouble. He managed to knock him down with a punch, taking a moment to consider his options before throwing chairs in the ring himself. If Bray wanted to play this way then fine. He could do the same.

"Roman! What the hell do you think you're doing?" The referee shouted angrily. He was already moving to the chairs Roman had thrown in, looking to throw them right back out.

"I -" Roman never got a chance to finish the reply. A pair of hands touched his back and roughly shoved him into the ring post. His head hit it hard, nearly making him see stars. He turned around, getting a glimpse of a tall, hooded figure behind him. It was just starting to register in his brain that it looked like Luke when he was superkicked right in the face so hard that he thought he broke his jaw. Fuck...yeah….that's fucking Harper….

Bray swooped in immediately, picking him up and slamming him back first against the ring apron. Pain shot down through his whole spine, leaving his head spinning even more. He felt himself being thrown in the ring. He felt himself being set up for Sister Abigail. He wanted to fight it. He tried to order his body to do it. But he couldn't. He was too dazed and too hurt to manage it, and he was grateful to let himself slip briefly into unconsciousness before the referee's hand actually hit the mat for the third time.

* * *

"That's some bullshit! Come on! How can the referee not just tell that they cheated?"

Jimmy's indigent question went ignored by Dean. He just stared at the monitor, hands clenched at his sides as he watched Bray and Luke celebrate over Roman's prone and unmoving body. He didn't know why he felt remotely surprised. He should have known something like this was going to happen. Bray wasn't one to play fair. But Harper being in the mix still threw Dean off. Bray had set him free. He had turned both Luke and Erick loose on the world. When had that all changed? Bray had given absolutely no indication of it. And while Dean obviously wasn't as close to Bray and his plans now that he had chosen Roman, he still felt like he should have seen this coming.

Without realizing it, Dean started to move. He left Jimmy in the locker room and headed to the curtain, stopping where he could hide around the corner without being seen. He watched Bray and Luke walk backstage, side by side, both of them clearly pleased with themselves. Bray was saying something, but Dean wasn't so concerned with that. His attention had focused more on Luke. The hoodie he was wearing plain. Shouldn't have really attracted his attention at all. But there was a familiarity with it. Dean felt like he had seen it before.

Looks like the one worn by that guy who mugged you.

Dean's eyes widened. His brain's realization stopped him cold. He tried to shake it off. Tried to tell himself that it was too irrational to be true. But he couldn't shake it. It made sense to him. That was the hoodie he had managed to see before he was knocked completely out. Luke was big and strong enough to put a hurting on him like that. And Bray just happening to show up right after...what if that hadn't been a coincidence? He had thought it was. He hadn't put it past Bray to follow him. It wasn't anything he hadn't done before. But what if Bray had set it up? What if Bray had gotten Luke to attack him just so he could get at him more?

He became so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize his hiding spot was about to be compromised. It wasn't until they stopped right in front of him that it dawned on him, and then it was too late. They stood before him, Bray smiling while Luke gave him a look that could only be described as murderous.

"Enjoy the show darlin?"

Bray's question made something inside Dean snap. He stepped forward and shoved Bray on the chest with both hands. "Did you fucking have him attack me?" The question came out as a snarl; he was practically daring Bray to admit it. "Did you fucking have him attack me?"

"What in the world are you talkin' about darlin'?" Bray had the audacity to look confused.

Dean looked to Luke next. "He fucking did, didn't he?" He shoved him now, readying himself to start punching at any moment. "He fucking had you do it?"

Luke didn't give him a verbal answer. Instead he just tilted his head to the side, eyes wide and a very eerie smile on his face. Dean felt himself getting creeped out by it, but he tried not to focus on that. Instead he focused on his anger, letting it drive him to shove Luke again.

"Darlin you better stop," Bray warned him. "You're talkin' crazy."

"Fuck you," Dean snapped. More and more eyes were starting to look their way, but he didn't care. "You fucking did it." Anything Bray had to say for himself didn't matter. He had it in his head that it was true, and that was all he could see on the matter. "You fucking did it so you could swoop in and play hero. You fucking did it so you could get me all loopy and try to fucking get in my head." He shoved Bray again, ignoring the growl that came from Luke. "You can't fucking stand the fact that you lost, and you'll do anything to break me and Roman up." He got right in Bray's face now, getting fully ready to take the swing. "Fucking piece of sh -"

A fist hitting his own face stopped him before he could finish that sentence. Luke was on him, tackling him down to the floor. More fists followed, both Luke's and his own. Referees and agents started yelling, swooping in to break them apart. Dean didn't want to be separated though. He fought harder to keep Luke where he was, grabbing a handful of his hair with one hand and hammering his face with punches with the other.

"Dean! Dean! Holy shit!" Just as the referee's managed to pull Luke away, Roman was right there, pulling Dean up alongside Jimmy and Tamina and dragging him back.

"Let go of me!" Dean struggled wildly against their grip. "Fucking let go!"

"Hell no man." Jimmy was the one to speak now, casting a nervous glance down the hall as he did so. "Fucking Authority's comin' man. They'll fucking take any excuse they can to put your head on a stick if you don't stop now."

Dean didn't care. He just tried to lunge at Luke again, almost getting free before Roman managed to reclaim him in a bear hug. There was the quick feeling of the older man's lips against the back of his neck before he was being lifted up and carried away. He scowled and sagged in defeat, mainly just so he wouldn't accidentally do something to hurt Roman. He couldn't do that. Especially not after how that match had gone.

But this wasn't going to be over. He would make sure of that.


	27. Chapter 27

"Man, I can't believe this shit."

Roman looked up from the plate of food he had been picking at. He and Dean were sitting in a booth across from Naomi and Jimmy at a waffle house they found in the next town over. He had dragged Dean out of the arena after his fight with Luke, stopping just long enough for them to get their bags. Jimmy and Naomi had joined them just a little bit ago, Naomi having to stay for the triple threat match between Charlotte, Sasha and Brie. They hadn't done much talking so far. Naomi and Jimmy had just been eating, Roman had been moving his eggs around with his fork, and Dean had just settled for downing cup after cup of coffee. Roman knew he needed to stop him. Dean already had enough issues going to sleep. An overload of caffeine was the last thing he needed.

"Wyatt really had Harper attack Dean like that?" Jimmy shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, I know he's an asshole, but I didn't think he would do some shit like that. Not to him anyway."

"Are we sure he like, actually told him to do it?" Naomi asked. "I mean, I'm not defending the guy, but Luke and Dean have had their own issues. I can see him doing that shit just for his own gain."

She had a fair enough point. Roman could begrudgingly admit that. But that didn't really matter to him. Even if Bray hadn't made Luke do it, he had to have known about it. And what had he done? Tried to use the situation for his own benefit. Dean's well being hadn't been the last thing on his mind. Trying to get in his pants and then create issues between the two of them had. That right there showed his true feelings for Dean right there.

"Don't matter anyway," Dean muttered. Both of his hands gripped his coffee cup, his foot tapping against the floor and making his leg jostle against Roman's. "Bray fucking lied to me. He fucking looked me in the eye and pretended he didn't know who hurt me. I ain't forgiving that. I can't."

Roman nodded his head, happy to hear Dean agreeing with him. He knew the things Bray had been saying and doing had been messing with Dean's head. It had gotten to both of them really. Bray was good at twisting and manipulating things. He had to hand him that one. But now they were both seeing crystal clear. He had lost the match tonight, but the fight would continue. Only now it would evolve. It wasn't about him and Bray fighting over Dean. It would be him and Dean now, fighting together. Even if he hadn't said it yet, it was only a matter of time before Dean demanded to be in it. And Roman wouldn't refuse him. He couldn't. He knew Dean needed it. And if he was honest, he needed Dean to be there for him too.

"Yo man, you're gonna like, vibrate right out of this damn booth." Jimmy pointed his finger back and forth between Dean and his cup of coffee. "Put that shit down and get some water in you."

"I'm fine," Dean insisted.

Roman knew that one wasn't true. Without saying a word, he snagged the coffee away from Dean and traded it with his water.

Dean glared at him. "I said I was fine."

"Just drink it." He scooted half of his eggs and bacon to the side of the plate that was closer to Dean's. "Eat that too."

"You don't gotta feed me like a baby."

"I ain't feeding you like a baby," Roman denied. "I just ain't hungry and don't want this to go to waste."

Dean didn't look completely convinced, but he didn't try to keep arguing over it. Instead he pointed to the hash browns Roman hadn't scooted around. "Gimmie some of those then."

Given how much he usually liked hashbrowns, Roman normally would have started putting up a fight right then and there. But this time he didn't even have an appetite for them. He shoved them all on Dean's side, nodding his approval as the younger man started shoveling it all into his mouth. He could at least be happy about this.

* * *

Bray tossed the last standing chair across the room, not caring about how loudly it crashed against the wall. His throat felt raw from the yelling he had been doing. Luke was in the other room, Bray demanding for him to get out of his sight. The high of winning his match against Roman had been killed off by the confrontation with Dean afterwards.. He hadn't anticipated Dean jumping to the conclusion that he had. It had thrown him for a loop, which rarely ever happened. He had tried to diffuse the situation. Tried to steer Dean on a different path. But Dean hadn't been willing to listen. And Luke hadn't helped the matter. The way he had looked at Dean...it had only fed Dean's misguided belief.

He let out a breathless, bitter laugh. He wanted nothing more than to track Dean down. He needed to make him see the truth. He hadn't made Luke do anything to him. Luke had acted on his own. But he knew it wouldn't do any good. Dean had already made up his mind about the situation. And no matter what he said or did, Dean at least figured out that he had known that it was Luke. Even if he hadn't actually told Luke to do it, he had acted like he didn't. He had taken advantage of the situation, and there was nothing he could really do now that would fix that in Dean's eyes.

"He's not worth it."

Bray turned around, looking at Luke, who had come back in without permission. He was still keeping his distance, not about to get too close in case Bray tried to hit him or throw something at his head.

"He's never been worth it." Luke pushed on, showing how much he really cared about the subject. He never spoke against something Bray said or thought otherwise. "He tried to make you weak. Tried to poison you."

"Poison me huh?"

"He used you. You swore loyalty to only him from the start. What did he give you in return?"

Bray knew what Luke was getting at and why he was doing it. He had never liked Dean. He wanted him as far away from Ambrose as he possibly could. But he still had a fair point. HE had given his love to Dean on a silver platter. He hadn't put any strings on it like Roman had. But what had Dean done? Rejected him, that's what. The sting of it finally started to fully bubble inside his stomach. Dean really thought Roman was so great? He wanted to waste his time on a man who would probably tire of him just like he had done with his wife? Fine. If he wanted nothing better, then that was what he deserved.

Bray nodded along to his own thoughts, burying down the ache that was still trying to eat away at his heart. He couldn't afford to dwell on it. Not over someone who had dared to cast him aside. He would still destroy Roman for helping to take Dean away. He had to do that just on principle. But if Dean had made his bed with the brute, Bray had to make sure he burned in it. It was the only fair thing to do.

* * *

Raw only brought more chaos.

Much like Roman had predicted, Dean jumped right into the fire with him. He found himself facing Luke, who had Bray in his corner. Dean had come out right after him, making a very loud statement about where he stood. Roman watched smugly as Bray's expression changed. It wasn't a look that lasted long. It wasn't even one most would have even really noticed, let alone knew the true meaning of it. But Roman saw it, and he knew why it was there. He couldn't have been happier to see it. After everything Bray had said and done to him, he was ecstatic about sticking it to him in any way possible.

Much like it had been with Bray, fighting Luke was less of a match and more of a war. Roman took every nasty shot Harper had to offer, and responded with ones of his own. Luke took as well as he could give; Roman could reluctantly give him that one. Eventually though, he found himself in position for the Superman punch. Victory was just within his grasp. But before he could strike, Bray pulled him out of the ring by the ankle and hurled him into the announcer's table.

"You mother fucker!" Even over the crowd, the bell ringing and Michael Cole's god awful yelling, Roman could still hear Dean's cursing clear as day. Without even having to get up he knew the dirty blond had thrown himself at Bray. He could see his wild punches being thrown perfectly in his mind. He couldn't just lay there and keep imagining it though. If it was just Bray out there, it would be one thing. But Harper, no matter how badly he had been rocked, still wouldn't stay down for long. He had to get up. He had to fight. He had to protect his boy.

He had barely processed these thoughts when Luke's heavy boots started kicking him right in the gut and chest. The strikes didn't last too long; they were just enough to leave him dazed again before Harper walked away, clearly going to double team Dean like he thought he would. "Fuck…" He propped himself up just in time to see Harper launching Dean over to the time keeper's area like a lawn dart. "Dean!"

Bray snarled and came back at him, reigning down headbutt after headbutt. Roman tried to fight back, but Bray's blows kept him off his guard. He was practically helpless as he was thrown back into the ring, where Harper trapped him in a crossface. An involuntary scream of pain left him as the shoulder that had been so beaten up over the past two nights was yanked and stretched in ways it shouldn't have been. Bray's boot kept kicking him in the face all the while, adding insult to the injury.

"Rip it out of his socket!" Bray snapped at Luke. "Don't stop until -"

Roman barely processed the fact that Dean was getting back in the ring before he saw him lunge at Bray again, punching him wildly once more. Luke let go of Roman and went at him, giving him time to breathe. He watched as Dean took out Harper, only to get caught by Bray, who tried to go for Sister Abigail. Roman made his move then, managing to land a Superman punch that sent Bray to the mat. He held his shoulder as Bray bailed out of the ring, looking stunned and infuriated. For a moment, he thought Dean was going to go right back out there after the both of them. But he showed restraint, instead talking a load of trash as the music started to play. Roman glanced around, looking to the crowd, who was roaring their approval, to Bray and Luke, who looked pissed, and then to Dean, who was right by his side, still running his mouth a mile a minute. He managed a pained smile as he nodded his head.

Yeah, this was how it was supposed to be.

* * *

Dean drove them back to the hotel that night, getting Roman settled on the bed before going down the hall to get some ice. He nearly overfilled the bucket, wanting to make sure they had plenty for any ache and pain Roman could possibly had. He also grabbed them some snacks, nearly dropping them all as he tried to get into the room. "Fucking hell…"

"Need help?" Roman started to get up, not even waiting for Dean's answer.

"Don't you dare!" Dean snapped. He kicked the door shut behind him, and managed to get everything to the table. "Jesus. Fucking told you to rest. Don't you know how to listen?'

"You're one to talk," Roman pointed out. He settled himself back down on the bed anyway, watching as Dean stuck the ice in one of the plastic bags they had already gotten out. "I practically have to tie you to the bed to get you to keep still."

"Yeah, well, it ain't about me right now." Dean walked over to the bed and put the first icepack on Roman's shoulder. "You need another one?"

Roman shook his head.

"You sure? I can put one on your ribs. Or your knee. How's your knee?"

"My knee feels fine." Roman pointed to the bag of Doritos Dean had sitting on the table. "Just give me those and hop your cute ass on this bed with me."

"My ass ain't fucking cute." Despite his own grumbling though, Dean still did what Roman told him. He was careful as he snuggled up to him, not wanting to jar him in any type of way. "You did good out there tonight," he said as he went ahead and opened the bag of chips for the older man.

Roman winced as he started eating. "Wish I could have pinned him though. Winning by disqualification doesn't exactly make me proud."

Dean nodded, knowing exactly how he felt. There had been times where he had taken a victory by any means necessary, but he had grown into having pride in getting it legitimately. He was just going to blame Roman for making him grow as a person like that. "If it makes you feel better, you'll get another crack at 'em. It's not like this is over."

"True." Roman swallowed down his mouthful of chips before leaning over and giving Dean a kiss. "Thank you."

Dean frowned. "For what?"

"Being with me out there."

"Dude, come on. You know you don't gotta thank me for that. That's where I'd be no matter what."

"I know but still." Roman gave him another kiss for good measure. "I love you."

Dean swallowed hard, The words hung between them, nearly choking him on the spot. He knew Roman didn't expect him to say it back. He knew he wasn't pressuring him into it. But he couldn't just keep not saying it. He felt it so damn strongly, and Roman fucking deserved to hear it. "I love you too."

The way Roman's eyes lit up melted away the fear and anxiety the mere idea those words caused. He kissed him again, more intensely, letting the chips spill on the bed and the icepack slip right off his shoulder as moved. Dean smiled as he kissed him back, his hands gently cupping the older man's face. He'd say it again a thousand times over just to keep this look in Roman's eyes.

If he ever got the chance to breathe again that was..

* * *

A/N: Just a couple of chapters left folks. Thank you all who have read/reviewed/faved/etc.


	28. Chapter 28

"Are you absolutely sure about this Disney World thing?" Roman found himself asking the question yet again. He was watching Dean pack up their bags, shaking his head as it seemed like he was going to be ignored yet again. "I remember you telling me you hate amusement parks."

"Ain't about me though," Dean replied. He barely looked up from his activities, instead keeping his eyes on the drawer he was pulling socks and underwear from. "You said Jo wanted to go. We've got the time off to take her. It's a no brainer dude."

Roman smiled softly. He knew it was a plan that Joelle would go absolutely nuts for. She loved all things Disney, and Disney World was one of her favorite places to go. Roman had taken her on a couple of occasions, but it had been awhile since their last visit. She was more than due another trip there.

"I already booked us in a hotel for two nights." Dean brought the underwear and socks over and threw them in one of the bags. "Two adjoining rooms. I don't really want to sleep without ya, but since we're not telling her about us, we probably shouldn't be sharing a bed or whatever."

Roman nodded reluctantly in agreement. He wasn't a fan of being in a different bed than Dean, but in this case there was no way around it. It didn't feel like the right time to tell Joelle that they were together. Not this soon into his separation with her mother. He needed to find a way to ease her into the idea. He already had her resenting him for how things had ended with her mother. He didn't need to make it worse for himself or Dean by trying to get her to just go with things this quickly.

"Figured we could take the park over both days." Dean was still talking, oblivious to Roman's thoughts. "I mean, I've never actually been to it myself, but I figured it was pretty big." He looked at Roman for confirmation. "It's pretty big right?"

"Yeah," Roman confirmed. "We're going to have to hit all the stuff with the princesses. Most of that is in like, Magic Kingdom." He moved to the closet, deciding to help Dean with the packing. "We could dedicate a whole day to that section. Get her princess stuff in, do Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain and all that shit."

"That...already sounds exhausting," Dean admitted.

Roman grinned. "Yeah, it's going to be." He grabbed a few shirts and threw them at Dean to put in the bags. "Second day we can do Animal Kingdom. She loves that almost as much as the princess stuff."

"Princesses and animals." Dean nodded as he zipped up the bags. "Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah, I can think of one thing."

"What?"

Roman grinned as he closed the distance between them and gave Dean a kiss. "That," he said as they broke apart.

Dean rolled his eyes, grinning despite himself. "Really Ro? You think you're so goddamn smooth?"

"Yeah." Roman grinned back at him as he nodded. "I felt pretty damn smooth there." He kissed Dean again, a little longer this time. "See? Real fucking smooth."

Dean rolled his eyes again. "What's your next move Romeo?"

The nickname normally earned a complaint from the older man, but this time he disregarded it. Instead he pushed Dean on to the bed, taking the time to slip off his shirt and toss it across the room before joining him. Their lips met again, their bodies shifting around to get up more towards their pillows. Roman grabbed the hem of Dean's tank top, his fingertips lightly brushing against his stomach as he started to pull it up. "You didn't pack the lube yet?"

"Nah man." Dean lifted his arms and let Roman slide his shirt right off. "Was saving that for last." He helped Roman peel off their jeans and underwear before flipping them over so he was on top. "Didn't feel like riding your dick dry."

Roman laughed as Dean leaned over towards the bedside table to grab said lube. "Yeah, that's never really recommended." He gave the palm of his hand a quick lick before wrapping it around Dean's cock. He stroked it slowly, loving the way Dean's eyes closed and his mouth dropped open as he moaned. He had no idea how gorgeous he was. Roman tried to tell him, both with his words and with his actions, but he never felt like he was believed. He wasn't going to let that discourage him though. He'd make Dean understand eventually, one way or another.

He sat up as he kept stroking Dean's cock, his mouth trailing kisses across Dean's neck and collarbone. Dean moaned again, arching towards Roman's touch. The lube was still in his hand, though it seemed ready to slip from his fingers at any moment. Roman took it from him and popped the cap off, letting go of Dean's cock so he could squeeze it on to his fingers.

"Was gonna do it," Dean mumbled. He threaded his fingers in Roman's hair, giving it a little pull.

"It's alright. I gotcha." Roman slipped his hand between Dean's legs, one finger teasing the rim of Dean's hole before slowly sliding inside.

"Fucking hell…" Dean dropped his head forward, resting it against Roman's shoulder. He moved against the thick digit, whimpering as Roman added another.

"Fucking gorgeous." Roman whispered the words into Dean's ear, fucking him slowly with his fingers. "Fucking love you so much."

"Christ Ro…" Dean shivered as Roman crooked his fingers, brushing against his sweet spot. "I fucking love ya too, ya magnificent asshole."

Roman couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't the most traditional terms of endearment, but it was so perfectly Dean that he happily took it.

Dean moved his head back and pressed a hand against Roman's chest. "That's enough. Need you to fuck me."

"I'm not even done -" Roman didn't get to finish his protest. Dean was pushing him down to his back and moving away from his fingers. "Dean come on."

"Don't need more prep," Dean insisted stubbornly. He took the lube now, rushing to coat it over Roman's dick. "Just need you." He tossed the lube aside before fully straddling Roman, sinking down on to his cock. Like Roman predicted, there hadn't been enough prep. Dean hissed in pain, and Roman quickly started to rub his lower back.

"You okay?"

"M'fine." The answer wasn't about to change. Dean was far too stubborn for that. He did give himself a moment, leaning down to distract himself by sucking an obnoxious looking hickey on Roman's neck. Roman didn't object, despite knowing he was going to have a hell of a time covering it up. The logic just wouldn't reach his actions, his head instead tilting to give Dean even more access to his neck. His hands went to Dean's hips, guiding Dean's movements once he started.

Dean's moved his mouth away from Roman's neck, his forehead pressing against Roman's now. Their lips hovered barely an inch apart, their breaths and moans mixing together. Roman's hands stayed on Dean's hips, nails digging just slightly into his skin. His own hips thrusted up to match Dean's movements. His eyes stayed locked on to Dean's, almost completely absorbed in them.

"Fuck Ro." Dean kept one hand on the mattress to steady himself as the other reached down to stroke his cock, which had been rubbing against Roman's abs. "Fucking...fuck!"

"You love my cock in you, don't you?" Roman couldn't help a bit of dirty talking. Not with Dean whimpering and moaning so sweetly. "You can't get enough of it, can you?"

"Don't be so fucking smug," Dean managed to growl out. "You're just as desperate for my ass."

That couldn't be argued with. Roman couldn't even think of trying. Instead he swatted Dean's hand away and took his cock himself, stroking him in time with his thrusts. Dean moaned, eyes fluttering shut as he came all over Roman's hand. Roman's release wasn't far behind, his movements only ceasing when they were both whimpering and oversensitive. He wiped his hand clean carelessly on the bed, not caring about having to clean it up later. Instead he sat up and wrapped his arms tightly around Dean, smiling as the other man just melted into his embrace.

* * *

Dean found his prediction to be right; Disney World was exhausting. His natural hatred of amusement parks, the sheer size of it, and the people that had swarmed the place left him feeling like his head was spinning. But much like he had thought, Joelle had been absolutely thrilled with the trip. She dragged him and Roman everywhere her heart desired, her family troubles erased for the time being. It made everything worth it, though part of him was glad to be able to collapse back on to the bed when they got back to the hotel. He had been left with Jo in her and Roman's hotel room, both of them saying they were too tired to go pick up the pizza with Roman. He had shaken his head at both of them, making jokes about only getting a topping he liked since they wouldn't go with them. None of that was taken seriously; he was too whipped to Joelle's puppy dog face to dare pull a stunt like that.

"What is this movie?" Joelle hopped on to the bed with him and pointed to the TV screen. The remote was still in her hand, her finger hovering over the button to start changing it again.

Dean took a look, eyes lighting up with approval. "Jumanji."

"What's it about?"

"A magical board game that like, releases all kinds of crazy shi - I mean, crazy stuff." Dean shook his head, making another mental note to watch his language. "Every time someone takes a turn, something happens. There's monkeys and a lion and -"

"Ssshhhh! Don't spoil it!" Joelle put down the remote, deciding that Dean's explanation was good enough. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah. I remember stealing a copy from the video store when I was like eleven."

Her eyes widened as she turned to face him. "Dean! You're not supposed to steal!"

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah I know. I was kind of a bad kid."

"Did you get caught?"

"Not for that one no."

"Well they weren't very smart then."

Dean let out a chuckle, merely nodding his sentiment as they turned their full attention to the movie. The silence only lasted a little bit though, as he kept noticing Joelle turning back to give him looks. "What?" he finally asked. "What is it?"

"Daddy says this was your idea." Joelle's voice was quiet. Almost too quiet for him to hear, even with them sitting so close together.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I thought you deserved to have some fun." He put a hand under his head, using that as an additional cushion for his head. "You are having fun right? I mean, it seemed like you were."

"I am." She turned more to face him, her expression a little too serious for his liking. "Dean? Can I ask you something?"

Crap. This was never a good sign. "Yeah," he made himself say. "You can ask me anything you want."

"And you'll promise to tell the truth?"

Uh oh. This was really not going to be good. "Yeah." He was going to regret this, but he couldn't bold face lie to her face. He could lie to a lot of people, but she was Roman's kid, and deserved whatever truth she was looking for.

"Does Daddy love you now instead of Mommy?"

Yep, he definitely regretted giving her the green light for this. He opened his mouth, wanting to lie. They weren't ready to tell her yet. They had planned to wait. But as he looked into her eyes, he suddenly got the feeling that lying would just do more damage than what had already been done. "Yeah," he finally said. "He um...he still loves your mom. But me and him….things um….started happening and we um….fell in love and stuff."

"But what's the difference? Why can't he love Mommy like that?"

"I...I can't really say why his feelings shifted with her Jo. I can't even tell you why he'd really think of choosing me." Dean sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as his shoulders twitched. "She's still super important to him. They had you together. But it's just...I don't know. I'd tell you that you'd understand when you're older, but I'll be honest kid, I'm an adult and I don't really understand this love business."

"But you love him." Joelle's expression had softened at his admission of not knowing before settling back into business.

"Yeah." Dean didn't hesitate to answer that. "That I do know."

She went quiet for a long time, turning back to the movie as she absorbed his answer. He tried to do the same, not wanting to rush her into saying anything. He couldn't let himself relax though. He stayed tense, wishing that Roman was back. Roman was better with this kind of stuff. Roman would have a better idea of what to say or do than he would if she decided to lash out at him.

"What about me?" was the question she finally asked. "Are you going to love me too?"

He blinked, not quite expecting that one. "You were already my favorite kid, even before things changed between me and your dad." He almost reached out to touch her shoulder, but he still hesitated. He didn't want to push it. "And your daddy wouldn't have me if I wasn't going to love you too."

"...Do I have to call you daddy too?"

He shook his head. "I can still be just Dean. I ain't gonna force ya to do anything you don't wanna."

"So you won't make me eat vegetables?"

"I'll save that fight for your daddy." He leaned over towards her, as if he was about to share a big secret. "I'm on your side kid. Vegetables are gross."

The small smile on her face filled him with relief. "I...I still want my mommy and daddy back together," she informed him, her eyes looking down at the comforter as she spoke. "But….if Daddy is gonna replace Mommy, I guess you're not so bad."

Dean knew he probably needed to correct her on that. It wasn't about replacing her mother. Nobody could ever do that. But he didn't bother. She was a kid, and she was going to see things how she was going to see them. Forcing her before she was ready to accept a different point of view was surely only going to build resentment. And really, this was as close to a seal of approval as he and Roman were going to get. He was going to shut the hell up and take it.

A few minutes later the door opened, signifying Roman's return. "Hey guys, so I got the pizzas, the breadsticks and some cookies while I was at it." He kicked the door shut behind him, unable to put the chain on it with his hand so full. "So I was figuring we'll eat, chill here for the half hour they say you're supposed to, and then hit the pool." He looked to them for approval, frowning as he sensed the heaviness of their just finished conversation. "What's going on?"

Dean and Joelle looked at each other, silently asking the other if they wanted to tell him. She gave a shake of her head, and he just nodded. If she didn't want to talk about it with Roman now then she didn't have to. He could be filled in later, where Dean would make him promise not to say anything to her until she approached him on the matter. "I was just telling JoJo about the wonders of Jumanji. And my adventures in five finger discounts."

Roman raised his eyebrows. He didn't look like he totally bought it, but he was at least going along with it. "Oh yes. Because telling my daughter about how you got away with stealing is such a thing you need to do."

"Hey, I'm not telling her to do as I do. I'm just fulfilling my role as a cautionary tale for all youths."

Roman shook his head. Dean could tell that if they were alone, he would have kissed him and told him to knock it off. But with Joelle watching him, that was clearly going to be saved for later. "You're ridiculous." He set the food down on the table and grabbed the paper plates they had brought with them on the trip. "Come on. Let's eat."


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** The final chapter! Thank you all who've been following me on this. I appreciate every one of you.

* * *

Roman set the weights he had been lifting down by his feet, trying to not let them clang loudly as they touched the floor. He thought he succeeded, though it was hard to tell with the sounds of Pantera still blasting from his headphones. He had come to the gym closest to Dean's apartment to get a quick workout in. Summerslam was just days away, and they were scheduled to face Bray and Luke. Dean had been trying to get street fight rules added to the affair, but that hadn't gotten much luck. It didn't bother Roman as much as it did Dean. He didn't need to have the rules thrown out the door. Maybe it would be nice, but it wasn't going to change the fact that he would beat Bray from one end to the ring to the next.

He straightened himself up and looked around the gym. Coming on an early weekday afternoon had been a wise decision. Practically nobody was there, meaning he could have a workout without getting stopped for autographs. He had tried to get Dean to come along, but the younger man hadn't budged. He hadn't ever really liked going to the gym, and had taken to working out in the desert instead. He said it made him feel peaceful, and Roman wasn't about to make an argument against that.

He went over to the treadmill next, trying to clear his mind back up as he started to run. The zone he had been in though was broken, and he kept glancing over at the clock. He and Dean would have to leave the next morning to attend some of the pre-Summerslam festivities. A couple autograph signings, visiting sick kids, possibly a tour of a firehouse or police station - it was all stuff Roman actually enjoyed doing. He liked giving back to people. But he found part of himself wishing he was past all of it. Hell, that part of him was wishing he was already past the match. Whether they won or lost, he wanted to be able to stop and actually take a breath. He didn't know if the match would be the one that ended the war with them and the Wyatts. Dean doubted it, and Roman sort of did too. But even if it wasn't, he would still feel better once he and Dean back in their hotel room and laying on their bed.

The running didn't last long, as Roman felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He got off the treadmill before answering it, grabbing his water bottle as well. There was no real point in even trying to continue this workout. "Hello?"

"Hey, so uh, the munchkin just called." It was Dean, and from the sounds of it, he was trying to have this conversation with a mouthful of food. It was a terrible habit, and he did it so often that Roman could sadly understand every word he was saying anyway. "She says your ma and pa are coming to the show on Sunday. They're gonna bring her and Jey and his kids and Jimmy's kids too."

Roman raised his eyebrows. This was the first he was hearing of this plan. "When the hell did they decide this?"

"I dunno man. I think just like, real recently." Dean swallowed his mouthful of food, and thankfully didn't immediately stuff his face once more. "She says their flight isn't until Saturday morning though, and we probably won't be able to get them from the airport. They're going to have to meet us at the hotel after we're done after all our shit."

"Alright." Roman tried to not let the fact that he wasn't the one Joelle called bother him. It was important that she could feel like she could go to Dean, especially now that she knew the truth. Dean had told him about the conversation they had after they had gotten back from the Disney World trip, and had made him promise to not to bring it up to her. Dean vehemently believed that she needed to work everything out at her own peace. He thought Roman needed to let her approach him first, instead of him trying to force it. Roman knew he was right, but it was still hard for him to actually go with that approach. He wanted to just have things fixed up now. He wanted to have the same kind of talk Dean was able to have with her, and make things better. He was her father. That was what he was supposed to do. But there was no easy fix. He and her mother were getting a divorce. His actions had drastically altered her life. And there hadn't been nearly enough time for her wounds to really start getting healed.

"Hey, you know what? I feel like we should go out to eat tonight." Dean, probably sensing where his head was going, decided to intervene. "I know a good steakhouse that I haven't taken you to yet. We should totally go there."

Roman smiled. "Why haven't you taken me yet?"

"It's kind of fucking expensive man." Dean huffed out a small laugh. "I tend to like myst stuff nice and cheap."

He did indeed. Roman supposed he should feel honored to inspire Dean to break from that trend. "I'll come back and shower and then we can go," he suggested. "That sound good?"

"Can I come in there with you and suck your dick?"

Roman nearly choked on the breath he just took.

"Hey man, come on." Dean was trying to sound innocent, but his tone wasn't fooling Roman at all. "I've just missed you. That's all."

Roman could only roll his eyes. He was just so fucking ridiculous.

* * *

Despite throwing himself into teaming with Luke once more and waging a war against Dean and Roman, Bray sometimes still found himself missing the blond. It wasn't what he wanted to be feeling. He didn't need to be wasting his time on it. Dean had made his bed, and he needed to burn in it. But sometimes his own emotions betrayed him. Sometimes, the ache in his chest would start up again, and it made him want to scream. It made him want to tear his own heart out of his chest and set it on fire.

Now was one of those times. He and Luke were walking back to their hotel, which was a separate one from where the others were all staying. They liked to keep themselves apart. They didn't actually like anyone else on the roster, plus there was just too many fans stalking around in the lobby, trying to pester everyone into giving them pictures and signing autographs. Keeping themselves apart helped them avoid that. But he now wished they had taken another route. He wished that they hadn't walked in front of the ice cream place - or he shouldn't have looked inside. Through the window he could see Roman and Dean in there, gathered at a table with Roman's family. They were sitting side by side, both of them laughing at something one of the others was saying. They looked so happy. Like they weren't worried about the match against him and Luke. Like he didn't matter at all really.

"They'll pay." Luke's voice was quiet, and nearly missed by Bray. "They'll suffer."

Bray just nodded, ignoring the part of himself that didn't want Dean to be one of the suffering party. Part of him still wanted Dean back, and Roman would just be the one burning. But they were past that. He couldn't afford to dwell on that. Couldn't afford to be weak. He had let Dean do that to him before, and what had that gotten him? Nothing. He had opened his heart and gotten spat on. He had gotten tossed aside. He had tried to give Dean what he thought he deserved - and he still would. That part of it wasn't changing. But what he deserved now was something far different than before.

"Come on." Bray forced himself to turn away from the window and start walking again. They needed to get back to their hotel. They needed to think. Needed to plan. Needed to focus on actually winning. If he couldn't even get in the game, they were going to lose long before they started. He couldn't let that happen. He had lost far enough already.

* * *

Despite the lack of a no holds barred ruling, it was every bit of a war as it possibly could be.

Not that Dean expected it to be anything less. Anything between them had always been that way. From their very first encounter against the Wyatts, when they had still had Seth and Erick had been with his brethren, the very energy between them all had promised nothing but destruction. It was a trend that lasted no matter what form they faced each other. The six man tags, the singles encounters, and now this match - it would be something that would last forever. Dean found himself believing that with every fiber of his being. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it. As fun as punching Bray and Luke in the face was, getting stuck in this eternal dance with them was probably not for the best. War like that would only start to wear them down eventually.

Being slammed down into the mat broke Dean out of his thoughts. He groaned as he sat up and clutched his back, the fact that he was in trouble really setting in. Roman had been taken out, thrown over the announcers table and had yet to get up. Bray and Luke were working together perfectly, not missing a damn beat despite the months they had spent apart. Fuck. Regroup. Fucking regroup….

Luke drove him into the corner, ripping off his tank top and peppering him with right hands. He tried to fight back. Tried to regain control of the fist fight. But Luke sent him back down, pushing up against the middle rope as he tagged in Bray. Bray didn't elect to come into the ring. Instead he went to the outside, grabbing Dean and suplexing him through the ropes and down to the floor. A million curses flew through Dean's mind, but none escaped his mouth. He just groaned, unable to stop himself from being pulled up, slammed into the ring apron and then tossed back into the ring.

Bray and Luke kept working him over, clearly enjoying having him at their mercy. Dean couldn't do much in the way of fighting back. He had to just endure, hoping to get a window of opportunity. He needed them to make a mistake so he could capitalize and tag in Roman. Or if Roman still wasn't up, he needed that chance to get a real breather and actually mount a comeback.

One of the chops Bray delivered to his chest finally seemed to snap something in him. As Bray started to go to the opposite corner Dean followed him in, smashing a forearm to his face. He tried to follow that up by hitting the ropes, only to run into a right hand from Bray. He went back, rebounding off the ropes and managing to floor Bray with a clothesline.

"Dean!" Roman's yell was music to Dean's ears, even if the crowd didn't agree. "Dean come on!"

Dean scrambled over to him, making the tag and letting out a sigh of relief. He rolled out to the floor, collecting himself there as Roman rallied against Harper. His momentum was stopped short by a sitout powerbomb, and Dean watched as Harper and Bray tried to go for some double team move. They were thwarted with a couple of Superman punches, and Dean pulled himself up just in time to get the tag in. Roman just gave him a look, and Dean knew just what to do. He walked across the apron to the corner Bray was in, climbing to the top turnbuckle as Roman picked Bray up on his shoulders. Watching old Road Warrior matches before bed the night before had inspired their choice of using the Doomsday Device, and Dean at least felt like they had done it pretty well. Bray certainly didn't kick out of it. Harper had to make the save, and he tried to take Dean out with a powerbomb. Roman knocked him out yet again with a Superman punch, and Dean really had lost track of how many he had thrown now. Three? Four? Five? It had to be something like that.

Bray came at him, trying to finish him off with the Sister Abigail. He fought his way out of it, hitting the Dirty Deeds instead. He didn't go for the cover though. Instead he tagged in Roman, letting him hit the spear and get the pin. It felt right to him, considering Bray had started all of this with him. He felt like Roman needed it more, even if the older man would never say it to him. He didn't need it to be said in order to know the truth.

They made their way backstage, neither one of them caring about the fact that the audience was still trying to give Roman hell. They were far too used to that nonsense. Instead he kept his focus on Roman, who grabbed his hand the moment they were behind the curtain. He grinned, barely noticing the people who were around watching them. He just pulled Roman into a kiss, internally smiling as Roman more than happily kissed him back. They were battered and bruised, but they had won. They had fucking won, and rarely had it ever felt so glorious.

"Hey hey hey! Munchkin's coming, so you better stop that shit!"

Jimmy's voice made Dean and Roman break apart. Dean pouted a bit, prompting Roman to chuckle and kiss his forehead. It was a promise of later, whether it was later at the hotel, or later of Jo was taken back home by her parents. Both felt like entirely too long of possibilities, but Dean nodded anyway. It would be worth waiting for, even if he didn't want to have to.

Joelle led the charge of the children, letting herself be scooped up into Roman's arms and hugged tightly. The other kids gathered around him and Dean, talking about a mile a minute. "Hey hey come on, calm down a little. I can't understand any of you." Dean laughed as he spoke, reaching out and patting them all on the head.

"Kids come on. Quit crowdin' him." Jey joined them and motioned for all but Joelle to come back to him. "They got to get changed so we can go get that pizza."

Pizza wasn't exactly what Dean was in the mood for, but he didn't offer an argument. Instead he looked to Joelle, who was staring back and forth between him and Roman rather intently. "What is it sugar?" he asked.

"Are you and Daddy gonna come home this week?"

The question caught Dean by surprise. He looked to Roman, who was definitely sharing his sentiment.

"Please?" Joelle took their silence as the start of a refusal. "I got a one last baseball game and I want you both to come."

"Of course we'll come," Roman assured her. He kissed the side of her head and adjusted his grip on her so he was holding her with one arm and reaching for Dean's hand with the other. "We wouldn't miss it, would we Dean?"

Dean shook his head, grabbing Roman's hand and offering Jo a little grin. "Never. We'll come home." Saying the words filled him with an almost mushy like warmth. One that he usually tried to avoid at all costs. But not this time. Not with the way Roman was smiling at him. He wouldn't say it out loud for the risk of sounding cheesy, but he felt like he was already home.

"Come on," was what he said instead. He gave Roman's hand an extra tight squeeze before starting to walk. "Let's get that pizza. I'm fucking starving."


End file.
